Harry x Hunter: Adventures of a Zoldyck
by Monumentum
Summary: Lily dies to save her children and James is left broken, desperately clinging on to her memory by doting on their only daughter, too bad Harry is neglected as a result. Harry is sent to the world of Hunter x Hunter and gets adopted into the Zoldyck family and is raised and trained to be an assassin when he shows a unique talent, too bad he doesn't want to join the family business.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hunter x Hunter does not get enough love on Fanfiction in my opinion, hence this story. The first half, which takes place entirely in the HxH world, is already written and just waiting for edits, while the second half, which takes place in Harry Potter, is still being typed up. This chapter is long, and the others will be too. I'm not sure how well that will be received but that's how it turned out.**

* * *

"Lily it's him! He's here! Take the twins and run!"

The frantic cry that came from James Potter was amusing to Voldemort, both in how the man believed his mudblood wife and children could escape from him and just how unlike the man's normal cocky tone it was. As a result of his humor, the Dark Lord gave a low sadistic chuckle, thoroughly reveling in the man's fear. He calmed himself quickly however, he had mudbloods to kill after all and he didn't want to waste more time than necessary in this hovel.

"Move aside Potter, I'm only here for the mudblood and her spawn, there's no need for you to die."

"Never!"

James' defiant cry barely left his lips before he was banished into a wall, hard, and promptly lost consciousness. Voldemort did not have the patience to banter words with the Lord Potter and, after removing him from his path, not bothering to check if the man was dead or otherwise, moved on to his real targets. The door to where they hid was warded quite strongly and could keep out a determined assault from any normal witch or wizard for a least a few minutes, but Voldemort wasn't a Dark Lord for nothing. With a simple blast of raw magical power, the wards, and the door they were anchored to, splintered into shards, causing a delicious scream of terror from the mudblood within.

All but gliding into the room Voldemort took in his targets for the night. The mudblood was standing protectively in front of a crib, wand out and face locked in a glare of defiance, but he could tell it was just a façade. He could see the terror in her eyes and the shaking of her hand as she struggled to keep her wand pointed at him. Behind her were her twin spawn, a girl with her mother's hair and eyes and a boy with his father's hair and mother's eyes, both looking at the Dark Lord in innocent confusion. One of these children was the one prophesied to defeat him was it? Well, he couldn't have that now could he?

"Move aside girl."

"No! Not my children! Please not my children!"

"Move aside girl! I may have promised you as a prize but don't think I won't kill you if you stand in my way."

That was a lie, he was going to kill her regardless, he just wanted her to watch him kill her children first if possible. Severus would just have to deal with the disappointment, she was just a mudblood after all and one of his minions deserved better than such filth.

"No! Please kill me instead! Just not my children! Not Willow! Not Harry!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

With a flash of green light, the mudblood was dead, her body falling to the floor with a dull thump much to the confusion of her spawn. It was a pity she had used up his patience but the end result would be the same regardless. Now to remove the threat to his immortal rule once and for all.

"It's a pity you know; I can sense the magical potential in both of you. You both could have been great, it's just your poor fortune that you have to die. Avada Kedavra!"

Just like before a streak of green light shot out from the Dark Lord's wand, it's target? The, now standing and almost defiant looking, male twin. Unlike with his mother however, when the curse hit this time instead of leaving behind a corpse something else happened. Voldemort barely had to let out a scream of fear and denial before he was hit by a massive magical backlash, his body vaporizing instantly and his soul getting banished far from the Potter home. As for his intended target, the young boy was currently knocked out after being thrown into the back of the crib while his twin sister started crying in pain after getting hit by wood debris from when the magical backlash hit the walls and ceiling.

It was five minutes later when someone finally showed up in the room in the form of a badly concussed and barely standing James Potter. He had just woken up less than a minute ago and, despite barely being able to think let alone stand, quickly made his way to the last location of his wife and children. He didn't know how long he was out for but the ominous atmosphere in his home didn't bode well. He just prayed to Merlin he wasn't too late. Unfortunately, his prayers were only partially answered. When James caught sight of the still form of his wife lying on the ground, he dropped to his knees, no longer able to force himself to stand as the shock of losing the love of his life set in. He stayed there for an unknown amount of time doing nothing, even ignoring the pain filled cry of his daughter and the unconscious form of his son, before someone else finally showed up.

"James!? Lily!?"

Sirius Black's frantic cry rang through the empty hallway of the Potter house as the sound of rapid steps filled the quiet home.

"James! Oh god Lily! Oh James I'm so sorry!"

James Potter barely reacted as he felt his brother in all but blood engulf him in a hug, his mind still blank from the shock of seeing Lily dead. Sirius tried to gently coax his friend out of his shell-shocked state but to no avail so he turned his attention to his god children. Panicking slightly at the sight of Harry's still form he checked his godson first, breathing a sigh of relief after finding him only unconscious and not dead as he had feared. Turning his attention to his goddaughter the first thing he noticed was the large bleeding cut on her forehead. Unfortunately, Sirius didn't know any medical spells so all he could do was clean the cut and put a conjured bandage on it.

Unnoticed to Sirius however, as he was too absorbed in taking care of his godchildren, another person had shown up at the house, this time in the form of Albus Dumbledore himself. What Sirius also didn't notice was the calculating glint in the Headmaster's eyes as he stared at the young Willow Potter. As the recipient of the full prophecy he knew things that Voldemort did not, and that was the one prophesied to be the Dark Lord's downfall would be "Marked as his equal". Considering the new "mark" on the youngest Potter he was fairly certain who that was now. Unfortunately for his plans however, James had survived the attack so he couldn't, and wouldn't even try to, remove her from his care. He might want to mold the chosen one into a proper weapon against Voldemort but he wasn't evil and wouldn't take a child from their family just to further his goals. Oh well, he would just have to impress on James just how important his daughter was. So wrapped up in his thoughts Dumbledore never even once looked at or even thought of the other Potter twin, for if he did he would have noticed a dark shadow slowly seep into the boy's body.

* * *

Ever since the night that his mother died Harry Potter has been slowly but steadily forgotten by his father. It started out as little things, his father forgetting to greet him in the mornings or not bothering to tuck him in at night, but as he got older it started getting worse. First his father stopped celebrating his birthday (which was the same as Willows) then he stopped making Harry food, which led to him learning to cook on his own fairly quickly, until finally it seemed like he had forgotten Harry even existed. This was never more evident when his father had taken Willow on a vacation for her 5th birthday and had left him behind. That was a week and a half ago and Harry had run out of food 3 days ago. He couldn't even leave the house to find more because James has put the wards on lock-down when he had left and Harry wasn't keyed into them.

The only positive part of his life for the past five years was his sister, who despite getting spoiled rotten by their father, never forgot about Harry and always made sure to spend time with him. Sure she was a bit of a brat and was way too arrogant for a 5-year-old but she had a good heart and loved Harry deeply. What was more important to him was that she acknowledge his existence and didn't forget about him, unlike his father or godparents. At least that had been the case up until now. Willow had finally forgotten him as well just as he had always feared, otherwise why would he be stuck here, alone and starving?

If Harry had the energy for it he would be screaming in anger and despair from being forgotten by the only remaining part of his family who showed him love. As it was he merely felt a dull ache in his heart as he lay curled up in the too small mattress that was his bed. He could only pray that he was remembered soon or that Willow's vacation was cut short, otherwise Harry was afraid he was going to die like his mother. Yes, he remembered his mother, fleeting images of crimson red, feelings of warmth and comfort, lullabies with half the words missing and, that night. Willow also remember part of that night but only in her nightmares, but Harry? He could recall it all. It was why he struggled to keep living despite the empty feelings that plagued it. His mother had wanted him to live so much she had died for him; he wouldn't taint her memory by giving up so easily.

Four days later and with still no sign of anyone returning Harry's resolution to not give up was crumbling. He no longer had the energy to move and he was starting to see things, mainly his mother calling out to him or the man who killed her taunting him and telling him to give up, that he was unloved and unwanted. The former was nice while the latter simply didn't faze him anymore, it's not like his words hurt him, they were true after all. He _was_ unloved and unwanted by his family; he had already reached that conclusion a week ago, he wouldn't submit though, not to the man who killed his mother. His mother who had wanted him, who loved him enough to sacrifice her life for him. No he would never listen to her killer, but maybe he could finally stop struggling? Maybe he should finally go to her? That was a good idea. There was nothing here for him anyways, besides the light around his mother felt warm and he knew she would never forget him like dad or Willow.

Unbeknownst to Harry his hallucinations weren't complete figments of his imagination. While neither his mother nor the Dark Lord were physically present, fragments of both of them were, albeit in differing ways. Voldemort's presence came from the sliver of his soul that had latched onto Harry all those years ago while Lily's came from the blood protection she had placed on her children. Neither was truly sentient and most of their "words" came from Harry's subconscious mind but the intent behind their "words" were real enough. "Lily" wanted to protect her son, to take him away from the place that was hurting him, that was killing him, while "Voldemort" wanted his destroyer to give up and submit to him so he could take over his body.

In the end Harry chose Lily and that choice would be his salvation as the faint voice of the Dark Lord cried out in a mixture of pain and fury. With a thunderous crack and a flash of light Harry was gone, leaving the house and his world behind to a place that was guaranteed to save his life, if nothing else. Several hundreds of kilometers away Willow Potter felt something within her break and a sense of loss fill her heart but couldn't figure out what had caused it. She wouldn't discover why until she returned home two days later.

* * *

Harry wasn't sure if it was a blessing or a curse that dropped him off where he landed 7 years ago. On one hand he was cared for, given food, clothing, shelter and attention. On the other hand, the family that found him were the Zoldycks, the most infamous family of assassins in this world; and they had decided to adopt him. Being a Zoldyck meant learning to become an assassin and all that entailed, from bitter physical training, to learning to resist torture and even learning (and being forced) to kill. Harry had struggled at first but the punishments he had to endure when he failed to comply were worse than any discomfort over killing so he was quick to get used to it, though he never got over it. Once he did however, he apparently showed that he was very talented in the art of killing, much to the delight of his new "family". Harry was much less enthused as all that meant was that his training was increased in both intensity and duration.

Before that tidbit popped up he had merely been a curiosity, and a means of his new father to placate his new mother's whims, and had gotten the same training as the servants. Harry figured it was only because he looked a lot like her deceased younger brother that resulted in her "motherly" instincts flaring up when he had appeared, and his subsequent adoption. Of course the only reason he wasn't killed outright before that happened was because of how he showed up inside the Zoldyck home. Teleportation was apparently not something even infamous superhuman assassins saw every day and it was enough of a curiosity, and a potential advantage, to keep them from killing him outright for trespassing. Of course they never could figure out how Harry did it exactly but they were able to train him enough to master his ability, at least for short distances of less than 200 meters.

Harry of course knew it was magic but didn't mention that little tidbit. Even as a neglected child he learned enough about magic to know that would be a bad idea, though admittedly part of his refusal to elaborate was as an act of childish rebellion. Harry didn't know much about magic anyways, only knowing that it existed and piecemeal information from watching his old family and reading books. He did try to secretly practice magic use but, whether it was due to a lack of a wand or something about the new world he was in, he had zero success beyond his teleportation. He didn't even perform accidental magic despite knowing he had done so before and the many high stress situations he had been in since his adoption. Harry leaned more towards the latter reason rather than a lack of wand. It would certainly explain the limited range of his ability to teleport even though he knew that James had been able to do so for a much greater range. At least his ability to do so, regardless of its short range, meant he still had magic. While he didn't care too much about losing his ability to perform magic, magic itself was one of the few links he had left to his mother now that he was in this new world. The others being his eyes and his memories.

Still, all in all, his life wasn't completely terrible. At least no one forgot he existed. He would have mentioned not having to worry about dying or starving any more either but the life of an assassin was dangerous and he had to undergo hunger resistance training several times so that would have been a lie. Another positive was that most of the family actually loved him in their own twisted ways and in spite of himself Harry had grown some fondness of them as well. He didn't think he'd ever truly love the older Zoldycks and would likely never see them as true family regardless of what he called them, but he did care for them more than strangers or his old family. As for the younger members of the Zoldyck family Harry _did_ care for them, love them even, and viewed them as family just as he had his sister prior to the event that brought him here.

Alluka was undeniably his favorite Zoldyck despite only getting to play with her a little more than a year before she was sealed away due to the family's fear of Nanika. Harry didn't understand why they were afraid of her, though that was probably because while Killua was Alluka's favorite, Nanika's favorite was Harry so he never had to worry about her action. Of course that might have been the problem as whenever Harry had to leave Nanika acted up and she got… upset as a result. Actually it was after one of those fits that Alluka was sealed away now that he thought of it. Harry didn't like it but he didn't have enough personal power or sway in the family to change the decision so it stuck. He did sneak in occasionally by teleporting though so that she didn't get lonely. Killua tended to join him as well so at least when he inevitably got caught he had company in the Isolation Room.

Speaking of Killua, he was like the brother Harry never had, and their bond and closeness reminded him of the twin bond he had shared with his sister before he had shown up here. It had taken a bit for the rather cold boy to warm up to Harry, but that was to be expected from who his family was and how he was raised. Once he did warm up to Harry however, Killua acted like any other child and was much more open and expressive with his emotions. It was the same for Harry really, the only times he could act like a child was with either Killua or Alluka/Nanika. The Zoldyck patriarch didn't see children when he looked at them, he saw assassins and the less said about their mother and brother Illumi the better. While none of them were completely evil people they were definitely not good people either and strongly discouraged them from acting their age, and tried to mold them into the perfect assassins/killers. Harry and Killua made sure to get back at them whenever they could though in a variety of ways, mainly in the form of pranks. They had spent many a day together in the Isolation Room for their stunts, like the time they managed to color their mother's clothes neon orange or put a neuro-toxin in Milluki's food/drink stash.

Despite the punishments for their pranks they never stopped doing them, Killua because he simply found them fun and Harry because they were a means of keeping hold of his last dregs of childhood. That and it got easy to ignore pain as time went on. Pranking was an outlet for all the crap he was put through so even if he wasn't used to the pain he would have kept doing them. Of course no outlet would be enough to compensate for all the terrible things he has seen, done or been put through. As a result, Harry wasn't the most stable of 12-year-olds, or even most stable of persons in general, but at least he was better than Killua. Killua actually liked killing to a certain extent now, unlike Harry. While Harry could kill without batting an eye or feeling any guilt, he didn't feel any pleasure from the act beyond the occasional vindictive pride for eliminating some of the more unsavory targets. Killua however had grown to be a bit a sadist and killing _was_ his stress relief more often than Harry would like. Surprisingly enough however, despite his… quirks, Killua actually didn't want to be an assassin any more.

Harry wasn't sure how that came about, maybe it was an innate rebelliousness, maybe it was Harry's own influence on him or maybe it was just a phase. Whatever was the case it remained that ever since Harry had wormed his way into Killua's life, the boy had slowly grown disenfranchised with the idea of taking up the family job. Of course that wasn't well received given the sheer raw talent Killua possessed but no one in the family, except for mother and Milluki, made that big of a fuss about it. Which was likely the only reason they had "escaped" from home and were currently waiting to take the Hunter Examination, not that Killua would ever admit it (he was very proud of his skills and was of the firm belief that they were the reason why they hadn't been dragged home yet).

"This test is so boring; why are we taking it again Killua? It's not like we need to be Hunters to have fun and if the rest of the test is like this then it won't even be a challenge. I mean all we've done so far is jog for the last two hours."

"Because it sounded interesting at the time and both of us are too stubborn to quit no matter how easy it is?"

"*sigh* Yeah that sounds about right… hey does that kid look like to be our age to you?"

"You mean the one by the old man?"

"Yeah that's him."

"I think so. You think you're related? He's hair kind of looks like yours."

"Nah, I have no male relatives besides my former father... You want to go say hi?"

"Sure, he'll likely be more interesting than the test anyways."

With their course of action decided the two Zoldycks sped up and they quickly reached the position of the running boy, though not before passing by the rather grumpy old man he was running near.

"Oi wait up you two brats! Show some respect to the Hunter exam!"

In eerie synchronicity the two turned to face the man, both sporting similar confused expressions on their faces. By an unspoken agreement Harry remained quite while Killua voiced their shared question.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you two using skateboards!? That's cheating!"

The two Zoldycks shared a brief confused look before Harry voiced their question this time.

"Why?"

"Wh - Why!? This is an endurance test!"

"No, it isn't." The sound of an unfamiliar young voice cutting into the conversation drew the attention of all three. It was the boy that Harry thought was their age, the one they wanted to talk to. Both Harry and Killua decided to remain quiet and see what he had to say, turning curious gazes towards the boy. The man however seemed upset by the boy's rebuttal.

"Gon, what are you saying!?"

Gon, that was his name huh? Harry glanced briefly with Killua and received a small nod of acknowledgment in return.

"The examiner only told us to follow him."

Fairly perceptive, that was promising, as was the lack of any strain or effort showing in his face or body from running two hours straight, unlike the old man they were next to.

"Whose side are you on, eh!?"

At this point both Harry and Killua ignored the yelling man and moved up to meet the much more interesting kid. Killua was the first to speak once more.

"Hey, how old are you?"

"I'm twelve years old."

Another short glance was shared between the two Zoldycks, this time with Harry giving Killua a shallow nod. Without any further words both jumped off their skateboards, doing an identical dismount trick that resulted in a spinning board easily landing in their hands as they started running without slowing down their pace. Like before Harry was the one to resume the conversation.

"Guess we'll run too."

"Wow! That was cool!"

"Thanks but that was nothing. I'm Harry, this is Killua, my brother."

"I'm Gon."

For the next half hour, the three children engaged in idle talk, with the two Zoldycks occasionally showing skateboard tricks to Gon, who was very quick to imitate after asking to try their skateboards. It was rather impressive and the two brothers were beginning to think that Gon might actually make a good friend. By this point however they were trailing in the back of the pack as the grumpy old man, whose name was Leorio and was Gon's friend apparently, was tiring out. Both Zoldycks thought he was on the end of his rope and neither really wanted to help him but when Leorio stopped running so did Gon, and neither Harry nor Killua wanted to leave their new friend behind.

"Hey, forget him. If he can't keep up that just means he isn't Hunter material. Let's get going."

Of course Killua, blunt as ever, didn't let things lie and spoke the words that both Zoldycks were thinking but that Harry had too much tact to actually say out loud. Gon didn't respond, instead opting to simply continue staring at his downed friend for several moments. Apparently Gon knew something that neither of them did as Leorio seemed to catch his second wind and, with a loud cry, dashed past them as he attempted to catch back up to the group. Gon was evidently pleased with this development and, with a quick flick of his fishing rod, the presence of which had resulted in a rather interesting story a few minutes' prior, Gon hooked Leorio's suitcase and the trio resumed running as well.

It only took a minute at a light (too them) jog to catch up to the group after which they settled in to a relaxed pace, once more telling stories to each other. For twenty more minutes this continued until they reach the bottom of a long flight of stairs and the pace started picking up even more, causing the young trio to resume their "light" jogging pace to keep him. Taking this as a sign that they were nearly at their goal Killua decided to start a competition.

"Hey Gon, Harry, wanna race to see who finishes first?"

Gon was quick to accept and even confidently set the losing penalty "Sure, the losers have to buy dinner."

Harry gave a slight shrug before he too responded in the affirmative "Why not, though if you lose I want your pocky instead of dinner Killua."

"Ah! You bastard! Leave my pocky out of this!"

As he had only gave his previous condition to rile up his brother Harry was quick to change his mind. "Fine, fine. We'll go with Gon's idea then. Losers buys the winner a dinner each."

"You're on! And you're cooking dinner when you lose, don't cop-out and order takeout."

Harry just rolled his eyes as he caught sight of the drool on his brother's chin "Tch, fine."

Gon gave a light laugh at the two's interaction, finding it rather funny. Once the two settled down however the three turned a bit more serious and, after sharing a brief glance and nods, they quickly started the competition.

"""Ready…Go!"""

The three took off at a high speed, none of their posture's or speed affected by their burdens (skateboards for Harry/Killua and fishing pole/suitcase for Gon) as they easily charged past the candidates in the back of the pack. Both Zoldycks were impressed and pleased by how easily Gon was keeping up with them, even as they steadily increased their speed. He was going to make a good friend indeed.

Pretty soon they passed by Leorio and Kurapika (someone Gon told them about but they hadn't met yet), though not before the shocking revelation that Leorio was in fact a teenager. If not for their balance training they might have tripped and face planted at the shock. The man looked like he was middle aged, not a 19-year-old for Pete's sake. As it was they merely kept running as their brains rebooted, ignoring the brief exchange between Gon and his friends. Pretty soon after that they were nearing the front of the pack and passing by scores of exhausted hopefuls. Killua took this chance to talk to Gon once again.

"I'm impressed that you can keep up with us."

"Really?" The rather sheepish and confused expression on Gon's face, like he didn't understand what was strange about that, put Killua on the back foot so Harry took over for him.

"Yeah, you must have gone through special training in order to have that kind of physical ability… Well either that or maybe it's just that everyone else is too slow."

Gon just looked confused but Killua seemed to think that the latter was more likely judging by his response.

"These people are weak boring. The Hunter exam looks like it's gonna be a breeze if this is all it has to offer, that's no fun."

Gon just let off some sheepish laugh at that, not knowing how to really respond, so he decided to change the subject. "Hey…why do you two want to become Hunters?"

Killua decided to answer for both Harry and himself. "Well I'm not interesting in becoming a Hunter. I heard the exam was supposed to be really hard, so I thought it'd be fun. Harry is here because I dragged him with me and he stayed because he was as bored as I am. It's been a bit disappointing so far however, the only interesting things being meeting you and watching that Hisoka guy… What about you?"

Gon seemed to mull over Killua's words briefly before he adopted an upbeat expression and proceeded to give his own answer. "Well, my dad's a Hunter, so I want to become a Hunter like him."

"You seem to look up to him a lot, must be nice to have a father like that. What kind of Hunter is he?" Though only Killua noticed, Harry's voice was slightly bitter when he spoke.

"I don't know, I never met him."

Harry paused at that, not really understanding how to continue so Killua took over for him.

"Hahaha. That's pretty weird."

"Really?"

"You want to be like your dad but you don't know anything about him?"

"Yeah. I was raised by Mito, so I've only seen my dad in pictures and heard about him in stories."

"Who's Mito?"

"My Aunt, my dad left me with her and she raised me herself… When my dad was twelve he took the Hunter Exam. He passed and became a Hunter, then he left the island. I want to find out why he chose to be a Hunter over being with me."

The rather upbeat and even happy tone in Gon's voice put both Killua and Harry off, though his words struck Harry the hardest. He knew what it was like to be abandoned by a father, to be chosen over something, someone, else. He knew how much that hurt. So why? Why did he sound like he wasn't upset? It was only when Gon responded that Harry realized he had spoken out loud.

"hmm… I guess I don't see why I should be. Mito raised me so I didn't miss him, not really. When I found out he was a Hunter, and that he had chosen his work over staying with me I was simply curious. I mean how amazing must being a Hunter be for him to love it so much that he left me, I want to find that out. If I become a Hunter, I feel like I can understand him better and eventually even find him to ask him myself. I don't care what his answer will be, either way he's still my dad and nothing will change that."

Harry still didn't understand, and by the looks of it Killua didn't either, so they simply put the matter to the side as it looked like they had finally reached their goal. With a final burst of speed, though it still wasn't either of the Zoldyck's maximum, the trio burst past the remaining contestants and, with a flying leap, passed through the door and the examiner right as soon as he stopped running.

"""Goal!"""

"Yay! I won!"

"What are you talking about Gon? Obviously I was faster."

"You're both wrong, I was."

"I was."

"No, I was!"

"I was faster; you both owe me dinner!"

"Wrong you both owe me dinner!"

"No, you me!"

"Me!"

"""Me!"""

"Hey Mr. examiner, who was faster?" Harry asked the examiner, deciding to end the argument and prove he won in the process.

The man's expressionless face and placid tone gave no hint to how humorous he found the situation. "I believe that you all finished simultaneously."

"Oh…"

"Then…I'll buy Harry dinner, Killua you buy mine and Harry buys yours."

"…I don't get it but as long as Harry makes it himself that's fine."

"Tch, fine, not like I don't cook our food anyways."

After that the trio settled down to wait for the remaining examinees to catch up so they could continue on to the second part of the exam. The examiner was rather lenient it seemed as he gave a full ten minutes for the participants to show up, though Harry doubted that some of the examinees felt that way. The survivors had been cut down considerably to a bit less than two thirds the starting number, but it seemed like Gon's friends were among them, though Leorio appeared to be dying. Gon was quick to greet them as they passed the threshold, with Harry and Killua following a few steps behind.

"Hey Kurapika."

"Hey Gon. Is this our destination?"

"No, it isn't."

"I see… The fog is fading."

"Really?"

Kurapika was correct as the fog quickly dispersed and revealed a rather impressive, if ominous feeling, forest. Gon seemed excited by the sight though both Harry and Killua were rather non-pulsed. They had seen many forests in their lives and the ominous feeling had nothing on that given off by the one around their home.

As if waiting for the very moment the fog dispersed the examiner started speaking to the gathered examinees. "The Numere Wetlands, also known as the Swindler's Swamp. We must cross these wetlands to reach the second phase of the exam. This place is home to many bizarre animals, many of them being cunning, insatiable creatures who deceive and prey upon humans. Be very careful. If you let them fool you… you're dead."

For some reason that neither Harry nor Killua understood his words seemed to shock many of the participants. It was rather obvious that they could die in the Hunter Exams, it was literally one of the first things that show up when looking for information about them. Hell they even had to sign waivers absolving the Hunter Association from legal responsibility if that happened. That being the case Harry doubted that the people who had been shocked or unnerved by the declaration would last long.

With a resounding thud the shutters over the tunnel entrance closed and the examiner resumed speaking. "These wetland creatures will use every trick in the book to fool their prey. An ecosystem in which creatures obtain food through deceit…Hence the name Swindler's Swamp. Stay very close to me so you won't be deceived."

"What a Joke. How can they fool us when we're expecting it?"

Harry nearly face palmed at Leorio's brash statement, you don't tempt fate like that, even a child knows that much. Of course, taunt fate and you shall receive as no sooner did the words leave his mouth did something show up to mock his declaration. That something being the appearance of an, apparently, wounded man claiming to be the real examiner and the corpse of a monkey like creature that resembled the so called "fake" examiner. It was rather disappointing how quickly many of the examinees got fooled, it obvious which was real if they thought about it logically. Besides himself only Killua and a few of the more veteran testers remained un-fooled, even Gon was tricked, disappointing the two Zoldycks slightly. Before things got out of hand and the examinees did something stupid, the situation was resolved by Hisoka, who proved just how right he and Killua were to label him a threat by easily killing the fake examiner with playing cards of all things while simultaneously trying to kill the real examiner.

With that little spat of drama settled, and a brief reprimand/warning form the examiner, the second half of the first Exam started and the remaining hopefuls followed the examiner into the forest. Of course the fog returned almost as soon as they entered the woods and quickly got thicker, causing many of the testers in the back of the group got separated. Harry and Killua remained in the front of the group to not lose sight of the examiner, not because they'd be too bothered if they did get separated. It was more of a precaution against staying near Hisoka, neither of the two assassins wanting to be near the psycho, especially with the growing feeling of danger in the air around him. They ended up leaving Leorio and Kurapika behind as a result but neither of the Zoldycks particularly cared as Gon had come with them.

As they continued running however they quickly lost sight of anyone else around them due to a combination of the dense fog and the various predators picking people off. They even ended up getting swallowed by a giant frog that was hiding underground of all things at one point. Getting out was easy, they simply used Tonpa's poisoned drinks, which the two Zoldycks kept a stash of to quench their thirst, but the smell and feel of frog vomit was beyond disgusting and it was a blow to the two Zoldyck's pride that it had happened at all. It was after that incident that their group split up, not because of the fog or another attack however, instead it was because Gon was worried about his other friends and wanted to check on them. Neither Harry nor Killua noticed until they had already reunited with the examiner's group and Gon was already gone (no pun intended) though, but they weren't really worried. If Gon died that was it, if not he'd show up again. The rest of the run through the swamp was rather easy and after twenty more minutes or so of running they reached their destination. They got a bit worried when they saw Hisoka walk into the group with Leorio over his shoulder but their worries proved unfounded when Gon and Kurapika showed up just before the deadline.

""Gon!""

"Killua! Harry!"

"I can't believe you actually got here on time, there's less than a minute left…"

"we thought you'd be late or had kicked the bucket."

"hehe, I just had to track Leorio's cologne."

""Cologne… are you a dog?""

Leorio, Kurapika and Gon all laughed at that, though Gon's was more sheepish than amused. Before they could continue their conversation however they were interrupted by the examiner.

"Excellent work everyone. The second phase of the exam will be held here, in the Biska Forest Park. So, I shall take my leave. Best of luck to all of you."

With that said the examiner walked back into the forest without a backwards glance. Before people could start gossiping however the large iron gates of the castle-like walls they were standing in front of opened, revealing the guarded interior and the groups new examiner(s).

"Will all applicants who passed the first phase please enter?"

The loud call came from the women seated in front of a very large fat man. Harry noticed the woman's interesting appearance, from her teal colored hair to her lack of an actual shirt (the one she was wearing being see through) and provisionally labelled her a seduction expert before dismissing further thoughts on the topic as unimportant for the test. That didn't mean he didn't think it was important for other… things, he was going through puberty after all. Harry's thoughts on the matter were interrupted by the examiner speaking up once she noticed everyone had trickled in.

"Welcome. I'm Menchi, the second phase's examiner."

"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner."

Before anything further could be said however a thunderous growl rang out in the clearing, it's source was the large examiner, Buhara's, stomach, much to the many contestant's astonishment as it sounded the equivalent of a rock slide. Manchi was quick to fill the silence before Buhara could apologize and start another conversation on if the man was actually human.

"Well, there you have it. The second exam will be… cooking!"

Protests rang out from several contestants, the loudest of which came from a larger man standing at the front of the group. Harry didn't pay too much attention to what was being said, too busy laughing at Killua's death glare. This exam would be easy for Harry but Killua… well let's just say he burns cereal and leave it at that. He did make sure to pay attention to the examiners' words enough to know the specifics of the exam, which basically boiled down to create a pork dish to feed them. It was relatively simple and Harry wasted no time after hearing the "gong" to dash into the forest in search of a suitable candidate for cooking. The rest of their group following him quickly.

In the end it was thanks to Gon's noes, rather than Harry or Killua's own tracking skills, that let them find their "ingredients", which turned out to be car sized carnivorous pigs. For some reason the others panicked and started running when the herd starting charging at them, even Killua though Harry suspected that was more for fun than because he was actually worried. Harry didn't bother, instead opting to jump into a tree and wait for an opportunity to take down an outlying pig. He didn't have to wait long and, with a shift in his hand to give himself claws, pierced a hole right through the beast's skull, killing it instantly.

Harry was the first to arrive back at the cooking stations and he used that time to quickly prepare his main ingredient. He doubted that many of his fellow competitors actually knew how to cook properly and he didn't want to give away an advantage by showing them how. Fortunately, for him, he managed to finish all of his prep work by the time the rest of the examinees returned, all with a massive pig carried over their head. It was rather amusing to watch them all, to a man (and woman), decide to spit roast their catch, without any other thought on seasoning or even cleaning the mud and… other material from their skin. Harry could feel the displeasure radiating off of Menchi as she glared at the culinary barbarians.

Harry was surprisingly, though he himself had excepted it, not the first examinee to present his meal. That distinction belonged to the fat man who had derided cooking and Gourmet Hunters at the beginning of the exam. His meal consisted of a badly burnt whole pig, organs, bones and all. Surprisingly enough Buhara actually liked the pig, though Menchi instantly shot it down, drawing protests from the man for not even tasting it. In the end however she easily browbeat the man into backing down, letting others take their turns, though they really shouldn't have bothered.

The same thing happened over and over again as multiple competitors presented the exact same thing to an increasingly pissed looking Menchi who got even more abrasive with her critique, until finally Harry finished cooking and decided to bring it to be judged. Unlike all the others Harry actually knew how to cook and wasn't presenting a whole, badly roasted, pig as his meal. Instead he brought up two plates (albeit one was the size of a small child, taking into account Buhara's apparent appetite) of roast pork belly. It wasn't too complicated or time consuming to make but it tasted good, could be arranged to _look_ good and, more importantly, wasn't the same as everyone else. Menchi actually lost the pissed off look on her face when Harry brought up his meal and, even more importantly, she actually tried his dish unlike the others she denied on pure principal. Buhara passed it instantly, unsurprisingly, but it was Menchi's response that Harry was truly waiting for.

"I'm glad we have an examinee who isn't a fucking barbarian and actually knows how to cook beyond simply roasting their pig over a fire… *munch, munch* *gulp* hmm not the best I've ever tasted but very impressive for a brat, you pass, albeit barely. Next!"

Harry smiled in victory before turning to look mockingly at the rest of the examinees, enjoying their bitter expressions as they were outdone by a kid. What can he say, he might have gotten a bit of sadistic tendencies himself over the years. Killua's was amongst the best however as he was still smoking slightly after setting himself on fire when he tried, and failed, to cook his own pig. The remaining 50 or so testers followed after Harry but none of them seemed to learn anything and still turned in entire roasted pigs until finally it was his group's turn… it was as funny as it was sad. Leorio did nothing different beyond putting a flag on top of his pig, Gon a Lei and Kurapika made his into a weird multi decker sandwich thing with no bread. All of them failed and with that the exam was over.

"Ahhh I'm stuffed." Harry thought stuffed was too light of a word considering the small hill of car sized pig skeletons resting next to Buhara.

"Yeah I'm stuffed too… and with that the second phase is over, with only one examinee passing. We're finished here!"

This caused an immediate uproar amongst the participants, led mostly by the same fat man as before. Harry thought it was foolish, the instructions were clear and the fact that none of the others even tried and simply tried what everyone else was doing was their fault and their fault alone. None of the remaining examinees even thought to change their tactics after watching him pass for crying out loud. Cooking isn't simply shoving meat into a fire, everyone knows that as long as they simply think about it, especially when their examiners are Gourmet Hunters. When you go to a restaurant to order food do you get handed an entire, poorly roasted, pig to eat? No, so why would you expect Professional Hunters whose entire focus is on food to pass you for giving them that. Buhara doesn't count considering he acted like the stereotypical fat guy and found anything he could put in his mouth delicious.

As a result of his contempt Harry just tuned out the rather intense argument, even when he was mentioned. Though that was also because whenever he was mentioned it was in the context of "that brat" or "that shitty kid" rather than using his actual name or badge number. He did make sure to avidly watch when Buhara bitch slapped the loud fat examinee into a tower, it was hilarious. Things looked to get even more violent however when several participants looked like they wanted to fight it out despite Buhara's display and a knife wielding Menchi. Mainly that was Hisoka judging by the blood lust coming off him, though he was all that really was needed if Harry was honest with himself. Luckily however the tension was dispelled by the arrival of a Zeppelin and the Hunter Association Chairman. For an old geezer that man sure knew how to make an entrance, what with jumping from his Zeppelin several stories in the sky and all.

In the end it was decided to redo the second exam, much to the relief of everyone bar Harry. Harry, being the only who passed the first, second exam was able to sit the redo out if he wanted. He ended declining mostly because, like Killua said, he was bored and he thought it looked fun. Diving off a cliff, hanging on by a thin thread (literally), jumping for a delicious treasure (egg) and riding an updraft back out? Harry was an adrenaline junky through and through and that sounded like it was right up his alley. Most of the fun was taken out by everyone, bar a few of the less intelligent examinees, following Gon's lead on when to jump however. At least the egg _was_ in fact delicious and proved to be a good way to end the second exam. In the end the second exam ended up cutting down the remaining applicants to forty-four.

The third phase of the exam, as it turned out, was quite a distance away so the remaining examinees were going to be taking the Zeppelin the Chairman arrived in overnight to reach it. Harry, along with Gon and Killua, were quite excited to explore the craft as it was much larger and more technologically advanced than any they'd be in before. Before Harry could board however he was pulled aside by Menchi who gave him her contact information and told him she'd be happy to mentor him if he wanted to be a Gourmet Hunter after becoming a Hunter. The offer surprised him, as he honestly wasn't expecting it despite being the only "official" pass in the second exam. It almost made him feel bad that he didn't want to be a Gourmet Hunter but he kept the card anyways and thanked Menchi for it before taking off to find his brother and new friend. After a brief meeting between the Chairman and the remaining participants the trio was off, making a right nuisance of themselves to the crew of the ship. It was fun and Harry got to see Killua in one of his increasingly rare pouting moods when he had managed to swipe the offered candy before him, so he felt the day had been a good one. The three had just gotten finished raiding the kitchen and were munching on some snacks, with Killua occasionally sending glares Harry's way, and watching the ground pass them by, when Gon decided to ask some… awkward questions.

"Hey Killua, Harry, where are your mom and dad?"

Harry let Killua do the talking, considering that despite being adopted by the Zoldycks he didn't view them as his parents and his real parents where either dead, or as good as dead in Harry's eyes.

"Hmm… they're alive…Probably."

Gon gave no indication that he noticed the lack of care in Killua's tone when he asked his next question. "What do they do?"

"They're assassins."

"Huh? Both of them?"

The innocent question from Gon caused both the Zoldycks to burst out in laughter. Leave it to Gon to come up with such a response to learning his friend's parents kill people. Despite the moment of levity Harry still kept quiet when they calmed down and let Killua continue speaking.

"That's your first reaction? You're a riot Gon."

"Huh?"

"You're the first person our age who's ever responded seriously when I say our parents are assassins."

"Well, you're telling the truth right?"

"Oh? What makes you think that?"

"It's just a hunch."

"…You're weird. Most people only like me because they can't tell when I'm serious, Harry being the only exception so far… We're from a family of assassins. So they're all assassins. And my family has really high hopes for me and Harry… But we can't stand it. I don't like having my life planned out for me and Harry dislikes being forced to kill people, especially for something as simple as money. When I told them I wanted my own future they all snapped and Harry backed me up. My mother started crying and told me I had the potential to be a top assassin before she started screaming at Harry for 'corrupting' me."

Gon gave a nervous sounding chuckle at the story, which Killua waited to pass before resuming speaking.

"Horrible parents right? It's natural their kids would go bad. We ended up fighting, so I stabbed my mother in the face, Harry beat our brother Milluki into a small coma before we ran away from home. I'm sure they're out for blood by now, though Harry seems to think we were allowed to escape. Tch, he just doesn't believe in my awesome skills."

Harry finally decided to speak up at this point. "I don't believe in your 'awesome skills' because you and I both know that even if Milluki and mother couldn't find us, father, grandfather and Illumi certainly could. It doesn't matter what skills of yours, or mine, we use."

Killua sounded completely unconcerned when he replied, much to Harry's slight annoyance. "Yeah, yeah. If they find us, we'll just send them packing. And when I become a hunter I'll start by capturing my family, they're worth some hefty bounties…"

Harry couldn't help it, he snorted in incredulity before bursting out in laughter at his brother's arrogant claim. They both knew it would be impossible for them to accomplish such a feat for a long time, time that neither of them had before they were tracked down and forced to come home despite what Killua said. Gon laughed along with Harry, though for different reasons, mainly Killua's expression when he started pouting angrily at his friend and brother. Killua proceeded to argue loudly that he could totally accomplish his goal all the while Harry made snarky remarks and Gon asked innocent, but devastating, questions about how he'd do it, to which Killua had no answer. The good atmosphere was ruined however as all three felt the presence of something threatening wash over them coming from one of the nearby hallways. They turned to face the direction the feeling came from but found nothing there.

"Is something wrong?" The curious voice of the Chairman asked as he calmly walked towards the trio from the opposite direction of his earlier "attack".

"Ah… Mr. Netero, did you see anyone coming from that side?" Gon's question the chairman without a hint of suspicion in his voice. Harry and Killua remained on alert however, not trusting the coincidence of the man's appearance. Both reactions got a subtle smirk from the Chairman as he responded in the negative, though the mocking lilt to his voice caused the two Zoldyck's to narrow their eyes in irritation. Killua decided to be direct about the two's suspicions, rather than keep it in reserve like Harry preferred to do.

"You're pretty fast for an old man."

"Eh? That little trick? I barely moved."

The mocking undertone in his voice was clear for both the young assassins to hear and the tension between the group increased further, though Gon didn't seem to notice. Harry decided to try and divert the tension by speaking up in place of his brother.

"What do you want, Mr. Chairman. You don't have anything to do until the last phase, right?"

"mah, mah. No need to be so unkind. I got bored and was looking for some companions for the night."

"…I don't think you'll be able to find any hookers aboard the ship Mr. Chairman, and if you're referring to us… please don't make me call the police. It'd look bad on my Exam record."

Killua burst out in laughter at Harry's rather caustic response while Gon looked confused and Netero utterly flabbergasted. It took the old man several moments to compose himself enough to respond.

"Not like that you stinking brat! *cough* *cough* Anyways… I meant to ask the three of you, any thoughts on your first attempt at the Hunter Examination?"

Gon was the first to reply. "uh-huh! It's been fun! And there haven't been any of the written exams I saw in my nightmares!"

The innocent response got a few chuckles from the Chairman and the two Zoldycks before Killua turned serious and gave his own answer, deciding that simply going with the flow was the best option at the moment.

"I'm disappointed…I expected the exam to be far more difficult. I assume the next phase will be more entertaining?"

"Well now… I wouldn't know about that. And what about you, you stinking brat? What do you think?"

Harry gave the old Hunter a smirk when he heard the annoyance in the man's voice before he replied. "It was interesting but I agree with my brother, it was rather disappointing and I had hoped for more difficulty".

"I see, I see…How you would three like to play a game with me?"

"I thought I said not to make me call the cops old man?"

"Not like that you stinking brat! *ahem* The game is simple and if you are able to defeat me, I shall immediately let you all become Hunters."

Gon was quick to agree but Harry and Killua hesitated a bit before giving their agreement. Neither of them particularly trusted Netero, but the man knew how to catch their interest so they wouldn't refuse playing his "game". The trio followed quietly behind the Chairman as he took them to a rather large room, where he proceeded to shed his robe (which set off several more cutting remarks from Harry and an equal number of angry denials from Netero) and took out a black striped yellow rubber ball. Clearing his throat to give himself time to calm down from Harry's, successful, attempts at riling him up Netero proceeded to explain his game.

"*ahem* Now, I'll go over the rules of the game. If you can take this ball from me before the airship reaches its destination, you win. I believe we're scheduled for an 8 AM arrival, so you about 9 hours to try. You're free to attack me however you'd like. I won't touch you."

"You'd better not you dirty old man, I have the police on speed dial if you try anything."

"SHUT UP! Will you stop insinuating I'm a pedophile! Stupid, stinking brat. Always mouthing off to the elderly. It's like no one ever taught you respect."

"My family taught me to never to trust strangers unless you have sufficient black mail or the power to end their life in your hands."

"Ah…"

Netero didn't really know how to respond but Killua was quietly snickering in the background. He always did love Harry's sense of humor. It was just unfortunate that most of his comments seemed to fly over Gon's head and, as a result, he tended to ignore them, as evidenced by his next comment.

"You can't touch us? That's too easy! You can't call that a game."

"Heh, why not give it a try first?"

Instead of Gon however, Killua decided to take the first stab at Netero, figuratively of course (this time). Harry could easily tell that despite his best attempts at cutting down the tension Killua was still highly agitated by Netero and was letting his anger affect his judgement slightly. He'd let things play out but if Killua needed his help he'd step in. Despite knowing that Killua was upset it was still surprising to see him break out Rhythm Echo right off the bat, though unlike Killua, Harry, as a bystander, saw the recognition in Netero's eyes. That didn't bode well for his brother's success in his attempt to get the ball. And Harry was right.

When Killua launched his first attack at the ball the Chairman instantly knew from where it came from, easily jumping back on one leg to avoid the follow up blows. What followed was Killua forgetting most of his training as he grew increasingly frustrated by Netero dodging his blows, in a myriad of insulting ways, from hitting him with the ball to jumping over his head. Eventually it got to the point where Killua threw away any attempt at getting the ball and instead focused on taking out his opponent. His course of action being launching himself at the Chairman's pivot leg in a devastating sweeping kick, likely intending to shatter the bone out of frustration. Harry thought it would work when he saw Netero fail, or chose not, to dodge. Instead however, he was treated to the sight of a perfectly fine old man and a frantically bouncing Killua who was cradling his now very bruised shin. It was at this point that Harry knew that the Chairman was _not_ a normal human, not when he survived unscathed a kick that could dent steel.

Killua, at the urging of Gon, tagged out and let their excitable friend have a turn at trying to get the ball. Harry kept one eye open on his attempts as he checked over his brother's leg, looking for any sign of a broken bone. Thankfully there was none and his full attention turned towards watching their new friend in action. He had rather impressive speed, though it was embarrassing to see him launch himself head first into the ceiling. Apparently situational and spatial awareness was not part of his training regime. Gon continued trying to get the ball for several more minutes after that happened, evidently not affected in the slightest by using his head to dent the ceiling, before Harry tagged him out for his own turn.

Harry didn't think he'd be able to get the ball on his own after watching Killua and Gon's attempts, but he wanted to use this opportunity to probe the Chairman as best he could to form a viable plan. Like Killua did before him Harry started out using Rhythm Echo, to the man's brief surprise. Harry wasn't as good as Killua in some of the family's assassination techniques but Rhythm Echo was one in which they were equal at, and considering Killua had mastered the technique, the surprise wasn't unexpected. Seeing one child master an assassination technique was one thing but two was something else entirely. Harry was actually counting on that surprise and, using the brief window in which his tension relaxed ever so slightly, launched himself into the air, copying Gon's semi-successful tactic. Unlike Gon though Harry remembered the ceiling existed so, instead of hitting it head first, he flipped himself around and used it as a springboard to launch himself back down and at the ball in Netero's hand. Harry actually managed to scrape it with a finger before it was quickly yanked out of the way. That didn't deter him however and Harry seamlessly continued his assault on the old man following the failed attempt, but, like the others before him, he found it was ultimately futile. In the end, after testing a few tricky angles and avenues of attacked (mostly using the ceiling or walls) and never getting as close to obtaining the ball as his first try, Harry tagged out, letting Killua have another go now that he had recovered.

This went on for a bit over four hours and by that point all three of the boys were exhausted, though Harry, by virtue of keeping a calm head and not expending his full effort, was the least so. Currently it was Killua's turn and, like usual, he was being humiliated by the Chairman, though this time it seemed he wanted to bring the other two boys in on it as well.

"You boys aren't getting anywhere. Why not attack me all at once?"

Predictably, this infuriated Killua and he once more launched a furious assault on Netero, though Gon seemed to take his words without the mocking intent behind them and swiftly joined the fray with an excited grin. Harry, instead of launching himself directly into battle like Gon, decided to take a subtler approach and circled the three with Rhythm Echo, waiting for his chance to strike, hoping to use his observations to good use.

For several minutes Gon and Killua launched a flurry of attacks on the Chairman to no avail, all the while Harry continued to use Rhythm Echo and waited patiently for a chance to strike. His chance finally came when Gon got sneaky and utilized his boot to extend his kick and catch Netero off guard, hitting him in the chin and knocking him away from the ball. Killua wasted no time in capitalizing on the opening and struck him from behind to increase his distance away from the ball. Harry, for his part, refrained from striking as he knew that the old man wasn't out yet. He was proven correct when, in a feat of incredible agility, Netero hooked the ball with his foot and launched it forward, right in position for him to easily recover. The old man's plans were derailed however by the addition of Gon's remaining boot getting chucked at the ball, knocking it out and away from the Chairman's range. It was here that Harry finally saw his chance to strike and launched himself full force at the ball, managing to get two fingers on the illusive prey before getting bulldozed aside by the charging form of the Chairman, much like Gon and Killua had before him.

At this point Harry knew that getting the ball was impossible and was already planning to quit when he saw Killua's face. His brother had snapped and Harry needed to get him out of here before he did something he'd come to regret. Harry was already in the process of trying to drag Killua out of the room when Netero spoke up, once again a subtle mocking lilt to his voice.

"I commend you on your efforts."

Harry could _hear_ Killua's teeth grinding together at the sound of the man's cocky words. Harry gave Killua a firm squeeze on the shoulder in warning, which served to calm him down thankfully, though only slightly. Harry could almost visibly see Killua reign himself back in before he finally responded to Netero.

"*Sigh* Forget it… I give up. I lose."

Harry was quick to echo his brother. "Same. I'm done here."

Gon seemed generally confused by the two Zoldyck's decision though Netero had a knowing glint in his eye that served to piss of Harry. The shitty old man could obviously tell what Killua's state of mind was and was enjoying it. Thankfully Killua was distracted by Gon speaking up otherwise he might actually try to kill the Chairman if he saw that.

"Eh why? We still have plenty of time, and just now we came really close."

"Jeez, you really have no clue do you? The old man has barely used his right hand or his left leg all this time but we're still powerless against him. We could probably chase him for a year and never take the ball away."

"Oh? You figured it out? And here I thought I'd fooled ya."

"Tch, shitty old man." Harry didn't appreciate the mocking tone any more than Killua did and let it be known with the venom in his voice.

"You really know how to piss me off you old geezer. Let's go Gon, Harry!"

"I'm coming Killua." Harry was right behind Killua as he walked out the door but paused when he noticed Gon not following them and heard Gon speak up, which also caused Killua to poke his head back into the room.

"Ah, I'm gonna play a little longer."

"Oi! Didn't you hear what I said!? It's useless! You won't be able to take the ball from him! Why can't you accept that like Harry and I can!?"

"Yeah! But I don't care about the ball. We've only used up half of the time limit, I'm gonna make Netero use his right hand before the time runs out."

"I see…" Despite his words it was clear Killua did not, in fact, see what Gon was talking about.

"Just leave him to it Killua, he's having fun here but we don't have to stay, Gon can meet up with us later."

"Yeah, I got it. Good luck Gon. I'm gona get some sleep or something."

"Goodnight Gon, good luck against the Chairman."

As the door closed Harry quickly went to work calming Killua as best he could with his words and some light physical contact. Like Harry, Killua was not the most stable of individuals and it was bad to be a bystander when he flipped, he tended to get… violent. Thankfully Harry was one of the few people safe from his ire and possessing the ability to calm him down so he was slowly able to coax his brother back to his normal self if given enough time. Unfortunately, there were some rather arrogant Hunter examinees awake at the moment who just so happened to bump into Killua, and also just so happened to be cocky enough to try and accost him for "being in their way" and "not respecting them". Harry barely kept the two's heads from being ripped off by his brother (literally), though the strain of doing so was unbelievable. Thankfully the two weren't completely bereft of a survival instinct and quickly made themselves scares after witnessing the clawed hands less than an inch from their throats.

"Calm down Killua, there's no need to kill them. They'll likely die in the next exam anyway. Now take a deep breath and center yourself. You're better than this brother."

With a few deep, shaky breaths Killua calmed down enough that Harry could release his grip on his arms. As his brother continued to struggle to calm down Harry quickly engulfed him in a hug and whispered soothing words to snap him out of his blood-lust. It took a few minutes but eventually Killua was good and with a curt thanks, to which Harry merely nodded in response to, the two Zoldycks made their way to the nearest room to sleep. Harry hoped a good night's sleep would be enough to calm Killua down for the third task, otherwise it was going to be a blood bath regardless of what it entailed. Thankfully it was and Killua was back to his "normal" self by the time they met back up with Gon, Kurapika and Leorio.

The location of the Third Exam turned out to be on top of a man made pillar, which was on a pillar shaped mountain. It was strange, like most things in this world, but Harry just went with it. According to the…person? Animated snack? Anyways, according to the being whose head looked like a green jellybean the pillar was called the Trick Tower and the goal was to reach the bottom within seventy-two hours. Seemed simple enough until one of the other contestants, who happened to be a pro rock climber, was eaten alive by giant flying demonic baby things after he tried to scale down the side. Yeah neither he nor Killua decided that climbing down on the outside was a good idea after that. It didn't take long for them to figure out how they were expected to get down after they noticed the number discrepancy on the top of the tower and the existence of trap doors. Harry, Gon and Killua managed to find five all right next to each other and, after calling over Leorio and Kurapika, decided to see where they led. That five trapdoors were so close together was suspicious to everyone but they decided that even if some of them were traps it was better to risk it than try and find other doors. They all felt rather embarrassed though when it turned out none of them were traps after saying their goodbyes and they all wound up in the same room together.

Apparently their route down the tower was a group one that required five people, which as luck would have it, was the exact number of their group. They all quickly put on the available stopwatches and were prepared to head off when they were interrupted by the Third Examiner, who also happened to be the Warden of the Tower (which doubled as a prison), Lippo. He gave this whole spiel about his test and the route they were on, which was the route of majority rule, before wishing us all good luck on the test. It was rather nice all things considered, none of the other examiners wished them luck before.

With that done they all approached the door to leave the room, which also had their first group decision: whether or not to open the door. Obviously they all chose to open the door and were promptly faced their next question: whether to go right or left. In a three to two vote they decided to go right, though Leorio got rather angry and confused by the decision, apparently believing his choice to be the "right" choice. Their chosen path led to a rather interestingly designed room with a small platform on each side connected to hallways with another platform in the middle, all of which were separated by a deep, seemingly bottomless, pit in the ground. The third Examiner Lippo was quick to explain what they had to do as Harry and his group stared across the gap to an equal numbered group of what appeared to be prisoners judging by the manacles.

"Welcome. Before you are some of Trick Tower's prisoners. The Hunter Exam Committee has officially hired them as examiners. You will be fighting against the five of them. The fights will be one-one one, each person may only fight once and you are free to use any method you like. There will be no draws, a win is declared when the opponent admits defeat."

Here the apparent leader of the prisoners spoke up, a tanned bald man covered liberally in scars, his voice deep and full of arrogance. "You may pick your order, it's majority rule so secure three wins and you may pass. The rules are simple."

Lippo cut in at this point. "The fights themselves however, won't be as simple. The prisoner's sentences will be reduced by one year for every hour they delay you here. Their goal is, to put it simply, also to buy time."

"I see… and we must reach the goal within seventy-two hours, of which an hour has already passed. So time will be critical during these fights." Harry nodded at Kurapika's words, agreeing with the blonde completely.

"Okay, I'm up first. Choose your combatant." The arrogant tone of the lead prisoner once more sounded out from across the room.

"Hmm, what do we do? He said that we can fight with any method. So that means anything goes." Killua was quick to pose the pertinent question to the group to start up the discussion.

"we don't know what they'll try to pull…" Leorio muttered lowly.

"There's too much at stake without knowing what they have up their sleeves. Given that I…"

Kurapika's word were quickly cut off as Harry made his presence known.

"No. I'll go."

"Harry!? No, I can't let you take that risk. This is a hardened criminal we're dealing with here."

"Calm down Kurapika, Harry can easily deal with that man, don't worry about it."

"Killua! How can you be so calm!? Your brother is offering to use himself as essentially a guinea pig."

Harry felt annoyed by the way he was being ignored and made his displeasure known. "I can speak for myself you know. I'm doing this and it's honestly not your choice to stop me. Besides none of those people are a threat to me, I'm a Zoldyck for a reason even if I was adopted."

Leorio and Gon looked confused by the last part of his words but faint recognition blossomed in Kurapika's eyes at the name, which was interesting to note, after which he promptly stood aside. Killua, for his part, gave a smirk and a simple fist bump to his brother as Harry stood forward and waited for the bridge to connect to the middle platform. Once it was Harry didn't even hesitate as he crossed the bridge and faced his opponent. Who once more spoke up, his voice filled with arrogance and not a little ridicule.

"Are you sure about this kid? I got a two-hundred-year sentence for burglary and murder. I won't hold back just cause you're a child."

"ohh? Is that so… I'm fine with being your opponent."

Harry's response was void of emotion as his vibrant green eyes faded in color, from brilliant Emeralds to dull Jade, as the life and innocence in them were snuffed out and replaced with something else, something colder and more sinister. The inmate in front of him seemed to sense that but, other than a small shudder, ignored the ominous feeling coming from Harry and simply continued to set the rules for their fight.

"Right…Now, let us determine the method of combat. I propose a death match!"

Harry could hear the panicked shouts of Leorio, Gon and Kurapika even as he calmed voice out his acceptance.

"Ha! I commend you for your courage brat, but you'll need more than courage to survive against me! Let…The fight… begin!"

With a loud cry the prisoner launched himself into the air towards Harry, who remained in place not even assuming a combat stance. His fellow companions, bar Killua, shouted out to him in panic but Harry acted like he didn't even hear. Just when it seemed like the inmate's arm was going to pierce Harry's heart, said boy appeared to fade out of existence, baffling both his opponent and his unprepared teammates, bar his brother. The baffled expression on the prisoner's face remained frozen in place, even as he died with his head cut off from his body and soared into the gaping chasm below. With a dull thump the, now headless, body fell to the ground and revealed Harry standing calmly several feet away with his arm raised horizontally, as if just finished from a sweeping motion, and his face set in a look of pure apathy. It took several moments for a flustered Lippo to call Harry the winner of the round over the PA system and send out the walkways once more. Harry, his face still frozen in apathy, calmly walked back to his team, taking care to avoid getting blood on himself from the still twitching corpse that he promptly tossed over the side.

Only Killua was composed enough to greet his brother and quickly offered his congratulations as he gave Harry a tight hug, serving the dual purpose of snapping him out of his killer mode, returning his eyes back to their normal brilliance, and obscuring the words he spoke from the others. Gon was the first to recover and once again displayed his naivety by congratulating Harry and saying how cool he was. Leorio and Kurapika took longer to come around but they too offered their own shaky congratulations before turning their attention towards the remaining prisoners in an attempt to calm their nerves.

The next prisoner to step forward was noticeably shaken by the previous match. He was a thin and rather weak looking young man who kept giving Harry rather terrified glances, which no one could fault him for. It was commendable for him to actually step up though and, after a brief debate, it was decided that Gon would be the one to face him. Harry thought it was a good thing as Leorio and Kurapika were still too shaken by his "match" to be reliable and the man didn't seem like the type that could pose a threat to Gon even if he wanted to. The match between them was far removed from the death match Harry participated in, instead being a rather simple contest between which two different sized candles burnt out first. The decision on which candle to choose was a majority rule decision but ultimately they decided to let Gon chose and simply voted for his decision.

In the end, the choice ended up not mattering as Gon, in his usual straight forward fashion, simply blew out his opponent's candle rather than let them burn down naturally. With his victory the group only needed one more win to proceed and the prisoner's looked anxious. It was at this point that the only prisoner to remain in the back of their "room" decided to step forward, his actions bother relaxing and worrying his fellow prisoner's at the same time. The reaction was curious and Harry could only think that they were afraid of him yet at the same time confident in his ability to win. His guess was confirmed by Lippo who introduced the man with a clearly shaky voice.

"I didn't want to use him but… the Hunter Exam has no mercy and I can't let you win that easily. If your challenger dies, then that's fate. Johness, I'm removing your cuffs."

The name, combined with the man's appearance as he removed his cape as enough to get a reaction out of Leorio, a rather bad one at that. The rest of the group was curious about what set him off but it was Killua who voiced their question.

"What's got you so worked up old man?"

"That's Johness! Johness the Dissector! The worst mass murder in Zaban's history! He chose his victims randomly, it was a famous case and, by the time he was arrested, 146 men, women and even children met brutal deaths by his hands. The only thing the victims had in common was that he murdered them all with his bare hands. He was known for his iron grip, the power in his fingers able to bend even steel."

"hehhh? Is that so? Welp, that settles it, I'm taking my turn now."

"What!? Killua you can't be serious!? You can't fight against that monster; you won't even get a chance to surrender before he kills you!"

"Leorio is right Killua, you shouldn't go out there. That kind of man is no opponent for a child."

"Kurapika, Leorio, enough. Let Killua go up, he'll be fine. He's a Zoldyck and my brother after all. Small fry serial killers like this Johness aren't a threat, they're barely even considered amateurs."

Harry's words shut the two older members of the group up as they had brief flashbacks to Harry's own "match". Needless to say Killua took the stage, though it was clear he was unimpeded by his opponent. Harry could tell that their teammates were worried despite his words but Harry made no move to comfort them, actions spoke louder than words after all. In the end it was anticlimactic as Harry thought it would be as Killua decided to pull a dad and rip the serial killer's still beating heart right out from his chest before he could even blink. Leorio and Kurapika were once again disturbed be his rather cold and merciless action, shooting worried gazes between Harry and Killua, though thankfully doing nothing else. Thankfully they calmed down quicker this time, though Gon was somehow completely unfazed by the entire thing, which was both worrying and comforting to the Zoldycks at the same time.

All in all, their first obstacle only took about 15 minutes in total to pass, leaving them with the better part of 70 hours to reach the bottom of the tower. For the next 8 hours the team continued making their way down the tower, having to use majority rule countless times to decide on simple things like opening doors or which way to go, to more complicated things like "activate the trap but gain a shorter route, or deactivate but take a longer one". Finally, however they reached their last choice room with roughly 61 hours left to spare. Like many others this choice was simple, chose the short and easy path but sacrifice two members to use it or take the long and hard path without having to leave someone behind. Luckily they had plenty of time left so in another unanimous decision they all chose the longer path. It ended up being like a repeat of their last 8 hours as they dodged trap after trap as they slowly wound their way down but it wasn't that hard all things considered. They ended up making it to the base with over 53 hours left in which they could recuperate for the next phase of the Exam.

Unsurprisingly they weren't the first to the bottom, they weren't even in the first 10 in fact, instead being the 14 – 19th participants to pass. Thankfully the other examinees, specifically Hisoka, kept to themselves so their two-day break was rather peaceful as Harry, Gon and Killua acted their ages, taking turns riding the two Zoldyck's skateboards and Gon teaching them how to use his fishing rod. That ended up with a few embarrassing moments when they accidently hooked onto Leorio's clothing but it was all good fun. Competitors continued to trickle in over the remaining time period and by the end of the third exam only twenty-six applicants remained, the number actually surprising Harry as it meant that a bit more than half the remaining applicants had manage to pass the test.

The fourth, and second to last, exam was to be held on an island, on which the examinees would be hunting each other for their badges. In total only 6 points were needed to pass, of which 3 points were allocated for an examinee's own badge, 3 points for their target badge, and 1 for any other badge they collected. Basically, so long as you had six badges of any kind by the end you would pass, regardless of whose badges they were. Harry's target ended up being one of a trio of brothers, though he wasn't sure which one, as was Killua's, which Harry found all kinds of ironic. Gon ended up getting the short straw by pulling Hisoka of all people. He seemed rather excited about it though, a strange combination of happy and utterly terrified to be facing the psychotic clown, so neither Harry nor Killua were worried too much about him. Harry and Killua still decided to split off from Gon after hearing about his target though, not willing to mess with Hisoka without being asked by their friend first. They would be working with each other for this exam though, mostly because they both thought their targets would be boring and wanted someone to kill time with.

Harry and Killua spent the first full day mostly just goofing around as they slowly explored the island. Neither were very worried about being ambushed or bumping into other examinees thanks to the training. They could tell the general threat level that the people following them posed and it wasn't much. The next day was more of the same at least until sunset when he and Killua decided that they were tired of being followed by their targets and made to take matters into their own hands. The three brothers (the other two having called in backup) proved to be just as disappointing as they had thought and, just to make it the slightest bit fun, the two Zoldycks decided to strip them down to their underwear before leaving the three unconscious.

The two moved on from the location after that, though they decided to leave them with the tag they didn't need, moving deeper into the island where they could faintly detect water at. The remaining days passed by rather slowly for the two but they also ended up being peaceful now that their only tails were from the Hunter Association. In the end, once the week passed, only ten people remained to move on to the final phase. Once more the remaining competitors boarded the Hunter Association's Zeppelin to travel to their next location. The flight was longer than the last one, even though it felt shorter, but the only noteworthy thing to happen was giving an interview to the Chairman. The questions were few and rather straightforward, which Harry appreciated, not wanting to be near the shitty old man longer than he had to be.

Why did he want to become a Hunter? He didn't, he was taking the Exam for fun and because his brother dragged him here. Which of the other nine applicants was he keeping an eye on? Hisoka, for obvious reasons. Which of the other nine applicants did he want to fight the least? Killua and Gon, because the first was his brother and the second his friend. That was all the interview consisted of. Harry didn't ask the others what they said, nor did they ask him, instead opting to simply pass the time with idle talk before bunking down for the night. They didn't arrive at their destination, a hotel owned by the Hunter Exam Selection Committee, until sometime shortly after noon the next day, where they finally learned what the Final Exam was going to entail. It was a tournament, one where the bracket was lopsided and only one of the applicants wouldn't become a Hunter. Killua was unsatisfied by the tournament's structure, mostly because several people had more chances to win than him. Harry was ok with it, mostly because he could tease the "losers" about it, especially since he had a higher number of chances than his brother.

The first match was between Hanzo and Gon. It wasn't much of a fight as Gon, despite his physical abilities, was very outmatched by the highly trained ninja. Despite that it lasted a long time, though that was because of the rules more than anything. Victory only if your opponent admits defeat and disqualification for killing blows were straightforward, though they made things more difficult than one would think. Watching Gon get brutalized for three hours just because he refused to admit defeat was rather difficult but both the Zoldyck's watched it with impassivity that only years of desensitization training could accomplish. In the end their friend was able to win in a most absurd manner, basically being so stubborn that Hanzo gave up in sheer frustration, though not before breaking Gon's arm and having to knock him out and literally force him to accept his "victory". The mood became rather light hearted after that, confusing both Killua and Harry, to a lesser extent. Neither really understood Gon's actions, nor the crowd's reactions to them. Harry could give make a guess that he believed was likely 60-70% correct thanks to his better grasp of "normal" people and their behavior, but Killua was completely clueless. In the end both put it out of their minds and put their attention on the next fight.

The next match was Kurapika versus Hisoka, with Hisoka deciding to forfeit in the end after only a brief amount of actual fighting for some reason, leaving a very flustered Kurapika the victor. The third match was Hanzo versus Pookle, with Hanzo easily obtaining victory, Pookle proving not to be as fearless or stubborn as Gon. The fourth match was between Hisoka and Bodoro, with Hisoka obtaining an easy victory after beating the old martial artist into the ground and whispering in his ear.

Finally, it was Harry's match against Pookle, which, much like Hanzo, he won almost instantly through the threat of violence and the man's own fear of bodily harm. Killua's match was next against Pookle, though he let his pride get to him and gave up without fighting, passing up on a guaranteed victory. Harry didn't blame him too much as Pookle was boring and not much of a fight but it was still rather stupid considering the circumstances. None of the remaining examinees looked that interesting either after all except for Gittarackur, who made Harry feel a sense of trepidation. The 6th fight was supposed to be Leorio against Bodoro but that was postponed by Leorio's request to allow his opponent time to recover from Hisoka's beating, another stupid decision, if an honorable. It was next match was when things finally went to shit and the Zoldyck's past came back to haunt them. Killua was up against Gittarackur, a man who gave off only slightly less bad vibes than Hisoka but looked twice as freaky. Though that wasn't his real name or appearance as it turned it Gittarackur was simply Illumi in disguise, which shook both Harry and Killua very badly, especially when he started speaking.

"Yo. Long time no see, Kil, Har. I heard you cut up mom Kil, and that Har put Milluki in traction."

Killua's voice was shaking as he stuttered out his reply. "I-I guess."

"Mom was crying…tears of joy. She was so happy to see that the two of you had grown up. But… she was worried about you two leaving home so she asked me to check up on you. What a coincidence."

Harry let his fear turn to anger at his older brother's words and snapped at Killua. "Coincidence my ass. I told you so Killua! I fucking told you!"

"Shut up Harry!"

Illumi paid the two's byplay no mind as he calmly continued talking. "Still… I didn't know you both wanted to be Hunters. I'm trying to get a license for my next job… and you two?"

Killua, seeing that Illumi had yet to threaten either of them was a bit calmer when he replied this time. "We… don't really want to be Hunters… I just felt like taking the exam and I dragged Harry along with me."

"I see…That's a relief…Then…I have some advice for you both. Neither of you are cut out to be a Hunter. You were born to be killers. You're puppets of darkness, without passion. You don't want anything or wish for anything, no matter what lies you tell yourself. As those who live in the shadows, you can only feel pleasure when people die. That how Dad and I raised you, Kil. It was how Mother and I trained you, Har. What would you accomplish by becoming Hunters?"

Harry couldn't help it, he all but screamed his denial at Illumi's words. "Shut up, you don't know anything Illumi! Just because we don't desire to become Hunters doesn't mean we don't have something we want beyond a life of killing!"

"Harry is right!"

Illumi remained calm. "You don't"

""We do!""

"There's something that I really want, and that Harry desires just as much!"

"Hmmm…. Tell me what it is that you both want…" Despite the flat tone of voice bother Harry and Killua could feel a slowly increasing pressure weighing down on them, preventing them from responding. "What's wrong?... There's nothing you really want, is there?"

""That's not it!""

"I want…"

"We want…"

""To become friends with Gon! We're sick of killing people! We want to be friends with Gon and live a normal life!"" The two sounded like they were desperately trying to convince even themselves with their shouted words.

"That's impossible… You'll never be able to make friends. Your only concern when you meet someone is whether you should kill them. That's how you were trained. You've both had to repeat that lesson enough to remember that right? You just don't know how to classify Gon because he's too dazzling for your eyes. You don't actually want to become friends with him."

"You're wrong…"

"You don't know anything…"

Both Killua's and Harry's voice were growing quieter, weaker as they struggled to argue against Illumi's words.

"If you stay with him, you'll both end up wanting to kill him one day. You'll get the urge to see if you can actually kill him or not. To see which of you will be able to do it first. Because your souls are those of killers."

"What the hell are you talking about! Killua! Harry! You're already Gon's friends. It doesn't matter what your brother says or what you think Gon already considers you his friends and nothing will change that!"

Both Killua and Harry were being badly rattled by their older brother's words and not even Leorio's attempt at an uplifting speech served to break them out of that state for long. Not when Illumi was there to instantly snuff out the hope his words briefly inspired within the two.

"Really… Gon's already considers you both as friends huh?... That's no good…Okay. I'll kill Gon then."

The temperature of the entire room felt like it dropped twenty degrees at Illumi's words as a malicious pressure started to envelop the entire room. Killua was breaking out in to cold sweat on the verge of hyper ventilating and Harry was not far behind. The feeling got even worse as Illumi continued speaking.

"A killer doesn't need any friends. They'll only slow you down… Where is he?"

One of the Hunter Association examiners tried to step forward and stop the eldest Zoldyck brother but received several nails to the face for his efforts as Illumi calmly kept walking towards the exit. His path was barred however by Kurapika, Leorio and even Hanzo surprisingly enough. This was enough to get Illumi to pause, though not out of fear.

"This won't do. I need a Hunter license to do my job, but if I kill them I'll fail and Kil will pass automatically. Oh! …Darn. The same thing will happen if I kill Gon. Hmmmm… I know! I'll pass the exam before killing Gon. If I wait until I pass the Exam I can kill everyone here and still keep my license, right?"

Surprisingly enough Chairman Netero responded in the positive to Illumi's words, apparently entirely unconcerned with the threat of casual mass murder. Illumi's voice was rather upbeat from that piece of information.

"Did you hear that Kil? You have to beat me if you want to save Gon. Or put your hopes in Har's ability to save him from me. So…Will you fight me for your friend's sake Kil? Will you defy me to save your friend's life Har?..." Illumi received no response from his brothers and simply continued speaking. "Neither of you can do it, because you're more worried about whether or not you can defeat me, whether or not you can go stand in my way. And… you already have your answer: 'I'm not strong enough to go against my brother.' 'Never fight an enemy that you can't beat'. I drilled that into your heads long ago." Illumi had been steadily reaching for Killua's head throughout his little speech, getting close enough that Killua tried to take a frightened step back. "Don't move!"

By this point Killua was in full on panic mode as Illumi was reaching his hands out towards him, desperately wishing to run but unable to against his brother's commands. Harry, despite not being the main target of Illumi's words or actions, wasn't faring much better and, like Killua, was completely frozen in place.

"If you move an inch Kil, I'll assume that the fight has begun. And if you move I'll assume you have decided to defy me Har. I'll also assume that the fight has begun if we make contact Kil, there's only one way to stop me. You know what that is… But don't forget…If neither of you do anything, your dear Gon will die."

Harry could see Killua struggling against his fear and instinct as Illumi's hand grew closer, and closer to his head. Harry himself was also struggling to move, to take a step forward, to active his teleportation ability, to do something! But in the end neither of them could and Killua ended up voicing his surrender, much to Illumi's delight.

"Oh, that's good! Then the battle's over. Hahaha. I lied, Kil, Har. I was lying about killing Gon. That was just a little test. But! Now I have my answer. You two don't have the right to make friends. Nor do you need friends. You should just listen to dad and me and do your jobs just as you always have. When the time comes, I'll tell you to retake the Hunter Exam Kil, and Har, I'll tell you when to take a Hunter request. You don't need your licenses yet."

Harry and Killua both felt something break inside them at Illumi's words and remained unresponsive up till Leorio's match against Bodoro, acting like mannequins as they quietly stood on the sidelines. Kurapika and Leorio both tried to snap them out of their funk but nothing worked, they simply remained motionless. It was only when Leorio's match started several minutes later the two finally moved, though not in the way anyone expected as the both of them proceeded to kill Bodoro in cold bold. Killua was disqualified after that, as they couldn't determine which of the two's blows had caused Bodoro's death in the end but neither of them cared. They were running on autopilot, their minds completely blank even as their friends yelled at them for an explanation. They didn't respond, instead both quietly walked out of the room without acknowledging anyone's words or actions. Their actions in eerie synchronicity and looking more like those of a robot than a person, the only break in the pattern was Harry instinctually catching and pocketing his Hunter's License when it was thrown by Netero. Neither of the two looked back, nor did they stop by the infirmary to see Gon, as they simply continued walking into the building, and the Hunter Exam, were far, far behind them.

 **AN: And that was the first chapter, covering a brief prologue and the entirety of the Hunter Exam Arc. The next chapter covers the Zoldyck, Tower of Heaven and Yorknew Arcs. Since this story is Harry centric the arcs themselves tend to not last as long as the manga or anime. Anyways this is my first story that I've posted and I'll be finishing it before posting another. Let me know what you think, I'm not sure how I'm going to handle reviews (as in how, or if I'll reply) but I will be reading them so say what you want.**

 **-Monumentum**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Here's chapter 2, how of the presses as it were. I'm going to try and post chapter 3 on Christmas Day. Thanks for support shown so far with the follows and favorites, I appreciate it.**

After their departure from the Hunter Exam neither Harry nor Killua spoke for the next few days as they traveled back to their home at Kukuroo Mountain. They continued to remain silent even when the returned home and were confronted by their mother and Milluki. They even remained silent even as they faced their punishment in the Isolation Room, at least for the first few days. After that, when Milluki took over their punishment both Harry and Killua finally broke out of whatever spell Illumi put on them. After that returned mostly back to their normal selves and started taking amusement in mocking their fatter older brother, it was one of the few things they could do to pass the time after all. Despite their punishment lasted nearly a month and consisting of torture and starvation neither of the youngest Zoldyck males that was the only thing that did bother them, the boredom. Neither were strangers to pain as both had spent plenty of time getting punished before so that wasn't much of a distraction from their dull days. The only change in their boring routine of sleep, get tortured, mock Milluki, get tortured some more, belittle Milluki and then sleep again, was when their mother showed up with their youngest sister one day near the end of the month.

"Kil, Har, have you learned your lesson yet?" Though neither could turn their head to see her, both children easily recognized the melodious tones of their mother.

"It's no use Mama. They aren't even the least bit sorry. We need to make him suffer more." Milluki's voice on the other hand once more showed how he was the odd one out in the family as it was nasally and grated on the ears. Honestly with his lack of skill as an assassin and his obese frame the only thing that showed a link between Milluki and their family was his ink black hair.

"Milluki! Shut your mouth!"

Harry couldn't resist snickering slightly at their mother's sharp tone. It was always amusing to watch their brother be put in his place and prove without a doubt the Milluki was the _least_ favorite Zoldyck child.

"Kil, Har, stop being so stubborn and say that you're sorry."

Neither of the two deigned to respond to their mother's entreaty and Milluki decided to speak up to break the brief silence and, hopefully, finally get a reaction from his two brothers.

"Oh, right. That friend of yours… Gon, was it? He'd be better off just leaving, but it sounds like he wants to try the Testing Gate."

""Gon is here…?""

Like the two often did when they wanted to bother someone they spoke in an eerie unison that served to unnerve their brother, though their mother and sister weren't bothered by it at all. Of course that might be because the two were a bit…obsessive about them but they weren't the targets anyways so that didn't matter.

"Milluki! You're talking too much! Listen to me Kil, Har…" Kikyo's voice went from shrill and angry to soft and imploring in an instant as she tried to reason with her sons but to no avail.

""You didn't even tell us!?"" Harry and Killua were pissed and it was clear by just how angry their voices were and the promise of violence in their cold eyes.

"Don't yell at Mama!" Milluki tried to brow beat the two but Harry was having none of it.

"Stuff it you fat fuck!" Their mother seemed to share Harry's sentiments as well judging by her next words.

"I told you to shut your mouth Milluki! And Har! What did I say about sweating!"

"Tch, sorry mother." That was a lie, Harry didn't care and was going to swear again at some point, it was only a matter of time.

"Mmm…I didn't think I needed to tell you Kil, Har, since it's impossible for him to open the front gate." Kikyo explained her reasoning for not informing them but they both knew that it was bullshit, even if they didn't voice their thoughts exactly that way.

""He'll do it.""

"What?" Their mother seemed honestly taken aback by the sheer conviction in the two's voices.

"Gon will open it."

"Gon is too stubborn not to be able to open it."

"Oh…That's nice. But he'll still never make it here." Kikyo's voice sounded shaky even to her, like she was trying to convince herself that she spoke the truth, it didn't work.

""Gon will…"

"He'll do it."

"He'll definitely make it here."

None of the other Zoldycks in the room knew how to respond to the sheer certainty in the two's words and they all, by unspoken agreement, decided to leave the two alone for the day. It was rather nice having their punishment end early that day but Milluki ended making up for it in the next few days. Their day's become fairly routine again at that point until their sleep break was interrupted by Milluki early for once.

"Wake up!"

"Oh. Morning, Bro. What time is it? Is it snack time? It looks like snack time."

"Nice to see you too you fat fuck. I see you've gained a few pounds again"

"Grhhh, don't be so arrogant Kil, Har!"

""Ehhh? What do you mean? We're generally happy to see you bro, and we're tooottally sorry about putting you in traction. Sorry, it was the wrong thing to do bro.""

"GAH! Stop doing that!"

""Doing what!?""

"GAH!"

Milluki spent the next couple of minutes releasing his frustration on Killua and Harry in the form of, rather ineffective, whipping. He only calmed down after receiving a call on his phone from their mother, though by that point he was sweating like a pig. The call only lasted a few seconds but Milluki's previously flushed and angry face quickly turned mocking and smug, which neither Harry nor Killua really appreciated.

"Kil, Har, your friends are near the butler's office. How about it you two? If I ask Mama those three can become…"

Neither Harry nor Killua allowed Milluki to finish his sentence as they promptly snapped one of their arm restraints each and gave their older brother a threat he couldn't ignore.

""Milluki, if you so much as touch them, we'll kill you…slowly, as we carve the fat from your body and force feed it to you until you suffocate.""

Needless to say the threat, backed by what felt like an ocean of killing intent from both of them, was enough to cow their brother, who nearly passed out from fear. They both thought Milluki was going to either piss himself or run away when the tension was broken by the sudden appearance of their grandfather in the room.

"That's enough Mil."

"Bu-but, Grandpa Zeno…Th-they aren't sorry at all."

"I know that... Kil, Har, you can go."

""Okay.""

With a snap Harry and Killua shattered their remaining chains before proceeding to rip off their manacles as well.

"Man, that hurt huh Harry?"

"Yeah, it was like the pumpkin prank all over again."

"Nah, that was worse. Illumi was in charge of punishment that time, this time we got Milluki."

"You're right, this was kind of relaxing in comparison."

"Still… you're right we're not sorry bro, but we do feel bad, that's why we let you slap us around for so long."

"Tch, speak for yourself Killua, I only stayed to keep your masochistic ass company."

"Har! What has your mother told you bought swearing?" Zeno sounded stern but there was clear humor in his eyes even as he reprimanded Harry for his language.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry gramps."

"Hmph. Kil, Har, Silva wants to see you two." It was clear that Zeno didn't believe that at all but he let it slide regardless.

"Dad huh, got it."

"Guess we're gona go say hi to pops eh Killua?"

"Mmm, it seems so."

With that the two closed the door to the Isolation Room and walked the long way to meet their father in silence. They could have taken the short route but they wanted to stretch the kinks out of their muscles before they arrived, that and they didn't particularly want to meet their father, so it took them a full 15 minutes to finally reach Silva's room.

"Kil, Har, I heard that you've made some friends?"

""Yeah.""

"What sort of people are they?"

"What sort of people…?" Killua sounded just as confused as Harry felt. Their dad didn't care about this kind of stuff, hell he barely cared about them outside of their ability as assassins.

"I guess they're people we enjoy being with, right Killua?" Silva seemed to ignore their confusion and continued talking in an amiable tone of voice.

"yeah." Killua felt no desire to elaborate further on the subject, which their easily father picked up on.

"…I see…How was the Exam?"

"It was easy." Again Killua didn't feel like elaborating and Harry felt the same, keeping his response even more curt than his brother's. "Boring."

"…Kil, Har, come over here…I want you to tell me more. What did you do during the Exam? Who did you meet? How did you feel? You can tell me anything."

Both Harry and Killua were warring of the uncharacteristic interest their father was showing in their lives and paused for a moment as a result. They were able to recover and gave a simple affirmation before moving to set down on the couch with the Zoldyck Patriarch. Despite not really wanting to talk to their father they knew keeping quite served no purpose so they talked. What followed after was a rather long conversation about the Hunter's Exam from bother Harry and Killua's perspective. It started out rather stilted at first but eventually the atmosphere turned rather nice and the two started speaking more easily, though neither completely let their guard down. Despite that, it was honestly the best memory with their father (both of them in Harry's case) the two ever had. They had just gotten through explaining the majority of Gon's fight with Hanzo when Silva finally stopped them.

"Kil, Har… Do you want to see your friends? You don't need to hold back, tell me the truth… Thinking back, we've never had a father-son, or rather father-sons, chat before… I was raised by my parents to be an assassin and I raised you two the same way. We're different, and I didn't realize that until you both left home. You are my sons, regardless of your choices or blood. You are your own persons, live as you please. If you get tired, you can come home whenever you want… I'll ask you one more time, do you want to see your friends?"

Harry and Killua were stunned, this was their father? This was the cold hearted assassin that didn't bat an eye at putting 6 years olds through torture resistance training? Neither could believe it but they couldn't keep themselves from answering him truthfully regardless of their doubts about his intentions. ""Yeah/Yes.""

Silva remained silent for a moment, his cold eyes staring into their own with unnerving intensity before he spoke up. "…I understand. You're free now but… promise me one thing. Never betray your friends… understand?"

Neither of them even hesitated. ""We promise. We'll never betray them.""

It was a rather interesting moment for the both of them, having never experienced unconditional fatherly love beforehand, even if it was likely fake to some extent. Still, it was nice and a free pass was a free pass so neither of the two wasted any time going to their room to change and pack a bag for the road. Killua chose to wear a black turtleneck, violet colored cargo pants, grey sneakers and a red backpack with six white straps, three for each arm. It was rather similar in style to his previous outfit but was more practical for colder environments, even though as a trained assassin temperature largely didn't affect either of them. Harry for his part, was now wearing a black turtleneck with an emerald green snake made of Celtic knots crawling up his right sleeve and unto part of his right chest. His pants were simple black cargo pants with black and green striped sneakers and an identical backpack to Killua, only his was green to match his clothes instead of red. Standing side beside they could almost pass for true brothers rather than adopted ones were it not for their differing eye and hair color and Harry being roughly five of centimeters (2 inches) taller than Killua. As they were walking down the hallway towards the Butler mansion to meet up with Gon they were intercepted by their mother and Kalluto.

"Kil, Har, It's too late. Those three already left. Return to your cell."

The two Zoldycks share a brief glance before responding.

""No way, we're leaving.""

"Kil! Har!"

Their mother lashed out at them with her hand but was brought short by the look in both their eyes as they partially entered their killer/assassin modes. They were done taking shit from their family, their punishment was over and their father let them go so they felt no obligation to humor their mother. Especially when she was lying to them.

""Out of our way.""

The words, despite being softly spoken, were a clear command and one their mother readily obeyed, too shocked by her sons to do anything differently. And like that the two Zoldyck brothers left home for the second time, not even bothering to look back as they made their way down to where their friends waited for them. If they had they would have seen the proud look and happy tears on their mother's face at seeing her sons becoming so wonderfully dark.

The Butler mansion and Gotoh were just as stuffy as the two remembered it being the last time they were there, but at least Gotoh was a professional through and through and would let them know when Gon arrived. The wait ended up being rather long, though Killua was happy as the butlers had proved a large supply of Pocky for him to enjoy, at least until he ate them all. For Harry they had provided a number of books but he wasn't in the mood for them at the moment. After several minutes with no news Harry and Killua were rather tired of waiting and, after finding out no one was nearby to answer their summons, decided to go looking for answers.

"Gotoh, is Gon here yet?"

"And where did you go, we tried calling for you but you didn't respond."

The two couldn't find anyone in the area around there room, nor even the entire wing of the mansion. It was only when they made their way to the main sitting room that they found where Gotoh and the butlers were, along with a pleasant surprise.

"Killua! Harry!"

"Oh! You're here Gon!"

"What the hell Gotoh, you said you'd tell us when Gon showed up!"

"My apologies young masters, I was just about to inform you. And master Harry what has your mother said about swearing." Gotoh's voice was as cool as ice, showing no hint of the lie he had just told.

"Tch." Why was everyone upset by him swearing? He's been part of the underworld and an assassin for years now. Why does swearing bother his family when killing doesn't? It didn't make any sense! Thankfully the annoyance Harry felt didn't taint the rather happy atmosphere of their reunion with Gon and he was quickly brought out of his thoughts when he heard Killua speak up.

"Hmm, Kurapika and… Leorio are here too huh?"

"It's Leorio!"

"Whatever you say old man."

"How many times do I have to say it! I'm a teenager! A teenager!"

"Anyways I can't believe you came here Gon, what happened? Your face is a wreck!"

"Don't ignore me!" No one, not even the butlers, paid the "teenager" any mind, making him slump into a brief depression.

"Yours isn't any better Killua, and Harry's looks even worse."

"Haha."

"Yeah Milluki gets a bit sloppy with his aim whenever I mouth off at him. Worth it though." No one knew how to respond to that so Killua was quick to shift the topic to avoid an awkward silence.

"Right, let's go somewhere else, anywhere else, right now. Me and Harry are done with this place. If we stay here much longer, mother will give us an earful."

"Or worse, Milluki will show up and start acting all high and mighty."

The group was quick to agree and within a few seconds they had gathered their bags and were ready to depart. Killua made sure to give Gotoh one last order that Harry thought it was pointless before they left though.

"Hey Gotoh listen up. I don't care what mother says, don't follow us."

"Understood. Please take care."

The newly reunited group spent the time traveling down the mountain and traveling to the nearby town getting reacquainted with each other. It was entertaining learning how they had lived in the gate guard's house for the better part of a month, mostly because Leorio's struggles with using the toilet were hilarious. Learning what really happened before Harry and Killua showed up at the Butler's mansion was a bit annoying but they let it slide, nothing they could do about it now after all. The train ride to the airfield was a bit dull after that though, and learning that Gon refused to use his Hunter's License until he could punch Hisoka in the face and return his tag left the two Zoldycks speechless, especially since he didn't know where the psycho actually was. Well he didn't until destination Kurapika of all people was able to tell him where he'd be, though the added fact that it was related to the Phantom Troupe left the everyone on edge.

Unsurprisingly, once they reached the airfield Kurapika and Leorio decided to part ways with the young trio to pursue their own objectives. For Leorio that was going to medical school and for Kurapika that was finding a patron so he could attend the Yorknew auction when the Phantom Troupe attacked. Gon was a bit upset but neither Harry nor Killua where particularly bothered, they weren't as close to the two older males and they knew they'd see them again in Yorknew anyways. They made sure to send the two off before deciding on a course of action, well Harry and Killua already knew what to do so it was more like informing Gon of the plan.

Gon was confused when they said they were going to train for some reason, much to the two's ire. Apparently he didn't understand that he couldn't land a punch on Hisoka without training and it took a detail explanation, complete with visual learning aids, to explain why. Yeah… Gon was a pretty dumb kid sometimes. In the end it was decided they'd go to Heaven's Arena, which served a dual purpose of being a place to train and make money. Harry had given a put upon sigh at the last reason, Killua should have had plenty of money left from the last time they cleared the Area but he had managed to spend it all on snacks already. Several hundreds of millions of Jenny gone, in under six years. Harry had barely made a dent in his own fortune from his time at the Arena, and even then that dent was caused by him having to pay for more of Killua's snacks.

Thankfully they were able to find a flight fairly quickly and, after a relatively short travel time, they arrived at their destination with plenty of daylight so spare. The Heaven's Tower was as impressive looking as last time in Harry's eyes, two hundred and fifty-one stories of high tech modern architecture, making it the 4th largest building in the world. It was the tallest building any of the children had ever seen and Gon, having lived on a very remote island for most of his life, was incredibly excited at the sight of it. Harry and Killua were less excited due to having been here before but Gon's mood was infectious and the two couldn't help but act like the kids they were as they walked, ran and played through the city on the way to the tower.

Unfortunately, their good mood died upon arriving as the line to register in in the Arena was incredibly long. taking two whole hours to finally reach the end of it, which was saying something considering the registration itself took under two minutes in total for all three of them. Killua ended up being number 2054, Gon was 2055 and Harry was 2056 so there had been some worry they'd have to wait even longer before they got a chance to fight but that proved unfounded. Gon was almost instantly called up to one of the stages once they entered the qualification arena, and the two Zoldycks weren't far behind.

Gon's fight was incredibly boring, though the bug-eyed expression on a large number of the audience were quite entertaining to see when Gon literally pushed his opponent so hard that he cratered a wall several meters away, all with one arm. Harry's fight was next up and, like Gon's, was boring as he easily dispatched his opponent with a single flick to the man's forehand. He was offered a chance to start at the 180th floor because of his past record but he declined in favor of stating at the 50th with Gon. Then it was Killua's turn and it was basically a repeat of Harry's fight, complete with an offer to go straight to the 180th floor, though he used a chop instead of a flick. The only interesting to happen during the whole process was the appearance of another kid, a bit younger than them, who had won his fight in the ring next to Killua's just as easily as all of them had. They resolved to keep an eye out on the kid and seek him out later for a possible friendship, though that proved to be unnecessary when he took the same elevator to the 50th floor as them.

It turned out his name was Zushi and he was a rather… earnest kid who had basically developed a bit of hero worship towards the three for their "awesome" fights. He seemed to be a bit excitable and very humble judging by his embarrassed reaction when Killua pointed out he had won his fight just as easily. The four kids fell into a short but pleasant conversation about fighting and when it came out none of them studied martial arts (assassination techniques didn't count) his face was rather amusing. Before any of them, mainly Harry or Killua, could tease him about it however, they were interrupted by the appearance of Zushi's master. His name was Wing, and he was a rather unassuming looking individual whose appearance was a mix of school teacher and sloppy college student. It was hard to imagine that he was the one who taught Zushi how to fight, though as assassins Harry and Killua knew better than to judge people based solely on appearance so they didn't voice those thoughts. Wing was a pretty nice person though and gave the three some interesting advice before they left, though it was largely unnecessary they appreciated the gesture.

The four children spent several minutes just talking and generally getting to know each other as they traveled to the 50th floor waiting room, quickly forming a rather easy friendship. The highlight of their talks ended up being when Killua let slip how he burned more than 200 million Jenny from his previous earnings from the tower on snacks in under six years. The reactions from the Gon and Zushi were priceless and Harry made sure to snap a picture for blackmail purposes. Fortunately for the two with humbler backgrounds, Harry wasn't as frivolous and still had the vast majority of his earnings left so Gon and Zushi didn't suffer a repeat of their previous reaction. Killua was a bit confused by their reaction, but Harry could understand, the two had been happy for the 152 jenny winnings from their first fight after all, it wasn't too hard to figure out, something he pointed out to his brother. Eventually however the rather friendly atmosphere and conversation came to an end when Killua and Zushi were called up to fight each other.

Unfortunately, Harry and Gon weren't able to watch the fight so they had to wait for Killua to return in order to find out what happened. Needless to say Harry ended up being just as shocked as Killua about Zushi's durability and his description about the feeling he gave reminded Harry far too much of Illumi to be comfortable, something that Killua agreed with. Gon, not having to experience their brother's presence, simply found it cool and was rather excited by the whole thing. It was Wing's actions during the fight that really stuck out to the two Zoldycks however, the man obviously knew what Zushi was doing, likely even taught it to him, and thus knew what Illumi's power was as well. They made sure to keep the martial artist in mind for future reference but ultimately decided not to act on the information yet.

Luckily Harry's and Gon's fights were called before their mood could turn too broody, though they were incredibly dull by comparison, both knocking out their opponent in one blow each again. After that the days, and fights, in the tower passed by rather quickly and the trio quickly reached the 150th floor with no trouble at all, much to his and Killua's disappoint. The tower had been much harder the last time they were here after all, though Harry reminded him that they were both much younger and less experienced at the time. His logic wasn't appreciated, especially as they both knew they could have reached their current level even faster if there wasn't a limit on the number of fights they could participate in each day. As a result they got bored and they spent most of their days lazing about and simply talking.

It was after reaching the 150th floor their conversations turned to speculating on what Zushi had used on Killua during his match. Killua believed they would find out on the higher floors for some reason, while Harry felt more inclined to search for information using his Hunter's License but it Gon who asked the obvious question of why they didn't simply ask Zushi. Both the Zoldycks were too embarrassed to tell him they hadn't even considered it until he brought it up.

It was rather easy for them to find Zushi and, when asked, he was more than willing to explain what he called Ren, though said explanation left much to be desired. Apparently it was one of the four major principles for disciplining your mind and body, a fundamental of "every" martial art, especially his school. The others being Ten, Zetsu and Hatsu. Needless to say the explanation of Nen training was confusing and told them absolutely nothing, which Killua was quick to point out in a less than delicate manner, despite Harry's "subtle" chastisement. Thankfully Wing showed up at this point and, after a brief but intense standoff with Killua, who really didn't trust his "coincidental" appearance, agreed to teach them what Nen was.

Unfortunately, Wing's explanation of Nen, despite being much easier to understand and more in depth than Zushi's, rang a bit hollow in the two Zoldyck's ears. It wasn't that Wing was lying to them per say, they would be able to tell if he was, but it was like he was telling them a half-truth or omitting something important. Neither Harry nor Killua believed that Illumi's power, the one that Zushi could apparently use a lesser version of, was something as simple as willpower. Though Wing's practical demonstration did confirm that the man had the same type of power as their brother did. Harry just wished Wing had been smart enough not to use that power with the expressed intent to kill his brother, even if it was a simple demonstration, as it put him in Assassin mode for a solid hour afterwards. The three left Wing's home at Harry's insistence after, believing that they'd learn nothing further and wanting to give Killua space to cool down. Gon was confused but after explaining the holes in Wing's story, it was impossible for a child to get up after taking a full powered blow from a trained Zoldyck purely with willpower after all, he was quick to catch on.

Thankfully Killua was able to calm down after a while and, after a good night's sleep, was nearly back to normal. Of course it helped that he was able to work out any lingering frustration on some hapless victims in the forms of their "opponents" as well. After their victories that day they only had a single match left each before they could finally enter the 200th floor, which would take place the next day in order to draw bigger crowds. Of course Like all their other matches, the fights were boring and each of them took down their opponents in a single blow, much to their disappointment. Harry did have to wonder why the opponents got weirder and weirder the higher you climbed in the Arena though (he had to fight a man wearing a bonnet and a diaper for pete's sake). Maybe there was a correlation between strength and brain abnormalities? If so, he was dreading what he would find on the 200th floor and above. He quickly shoved the thoughts into the far corners of his mind as they had just finished preparing to enter the 200th floor and needed to leave their current rooms. After taking the elevator up from the 190th floor the three saw the 200th level for the first time.

At first glance the 200th floor seemed rather nice, like a high class hotel floor even, but that was proven to be little more than an illusion when they tried to reach the receptionist. They could feel a dark and ominous presence weighing down on them just by simply looking into the hallway leading to the receptionist. The feeling reminded all of them of what they felt from Wing just a couple of days ago, though much, much more malicious. They wouldn't let that feeling dissuade them however and they bravely forged onward, intent on completing their registration that night. Unfortunately, they didn't get far before the murderous intent became way too much to bear, feeling as gravity had quintupled and they were seeming in an ocean of blood. Then all of the sudden, before they were forced to retreat, the feeling dispersed as one of the Arena works showed up and gave them an explanation on the 200th floor. It was rather surreal and it was only made worse as none of them could tell whether she was the source of the killing intent or not. Of course life likes to throw curveballs and out of nowhere Hisoka of all people showed up, scaring the crap of the receptionist and putting the three children instantly on edge.

"Hisoka… What are you doing here?"

Despite Killua's best efforts his voice still sounded shaky as he questioned the psychotic magician.

"hmm? It's hardly that strange. I love to fight, and this is a temple to fighting. And? Why are you here? Just kidding… This wasn't a coincidence; I've been waiting for you. Remember how you ordered airship tickets over the cybernet? With a little effort it's possible to determine where and when someone will arrive." Hisoka's voice sounded upbeat, playful even, and it unnerved them just as much as the words he spoke did.

"Great not only are you a psychotic murderer but you're a stalker who likes little boys as well. What's next, gona tell us you kick puppies?" Harry couldn't help himself from mouthing off, snarky comments were his defense mechanism as much as they were a hobby and Hisoka scared him. Thankfully it Hisoka seemed amused by his comment more than anything.

"Haha, yes that's good. I love that little spark of fire in you, it makes me want to… snuff it out."

Harry couldn't suppress the shudder that went down his spine at the jester's words and dark change in tone, not when he saw the insanity dancing in his eyes. Harry could vaguely see both Gon and Killua tense up next to him, ready to come to Harry's defense if Hisoka decided to attack. Thankfully the mad man calmed down and simply resumed speaking in his usual upbeat tone.

"Anyways… I knew you would come here eventually and so… as a veteran I have a warning for you. It's still too early for you boys to step on this floor." With a simply gesture with his arm all three boys were pushed back by some kind of invisible force, like a strong burst of wind or an invisible wave of water. Hisoka's voice gained a slightly mocking lilt to it as he continued talking. "How early depends on your efforts. Leave for now, It's still too early."

"That's stupid! We just got up here!..."

Harry was about to try and calm down Killua before he did something rash, beyond simply yelling at the clown, when Hisoka ended up doing it for him in by projecting the same murderous aura as before only this time it was comparable to what they felt from Illumi.

"I won't let you pass… Not that you could anyway."

The feeling Hisoka was giving off was overwhelming and the trio were hard pressed just maintaining consciousness. Gon, in his typical stubborn and hard-headed manner, tried to force himself forward anyways, despite the pressure and the growing darkness in his eyes. Harry could tell the effort required to do so was taking an extreme toll on his friend but he had lost his ability to even breath normally, let alone speak up to try and stop him. Thankfully they were saved by the unlikely appearance of Wing, his presence in the hallway causing Hisoka to stop projecting his intent to murder them.

"Don't be reckless!" Wing's voice was stern and directed at all three of them.

"""Wing!?"""

"You have no defense against his _Nen._ Right now, you are like someone standing naked in a blizzard, wondering why it's cold. If you continue to strain your body and struggle against his Nen, you may die."

"This is Nen!? He can stop us from moving forward through willpower!? Don't lie to us!"

Killua beat Harry to the punch with his loud accusation, and he could see Gon giving a small nod at Killua's words as well. Wing just gave a sigh, though his stern expression remained, as he responded to Killua's charge.

"Yes, I was lying… Though technically I wasn't lying completely. I will teach you the truth about _Nen,_ so retreat for now." The three youths were hesitating to comply, not liking the idea of quitting and not knowing the consequences for doing so. Surprisingly it was Gon who first voiced their concerns.

"…Hey, receptionist lady, what happens if we don't register today?"

"Mr. Gon, you would have to start again from the first floor. However, Misters Killua and Harry refused to register once before so if they fail to do so again their commitment will be question and they will be banned from participating in the tower ever again."

While not too big of a deal it was still upset the Zoldyck brothers as they had just found a good place to train with actual worthy opponents so neither wanted to lose it just because they gave up. Sharing a brief nod Harry let Killua speak for the both of them.

"Hey Wing, if we back down now will be able to return here by midnight?"

"…That depends on you but it is possible."

The three young boys all shared a glance and came to a silent accord, something that Wing noticed and, knowing what it was about, turned around and calmly started walking away, the sound of three different footsteps following right behind him. After a rather tense walk, during which no one said a word, the three friends once again found themselves inside Wing's home, where he wasted no time in giving a real demonstration of Nen by throwing flowers through a porcelain vase with little effort. While the three were briefly stunned by the demonstration Wing launched into the real explanation of Nen.

"Simply put, that is Nen. _Nen_ refers to the ability to manipulate your aura, also known as life energy. Every person possesses a small amount of life energy but in most cases it's simply discharged. The ability to build up a shroud of life energy is known as _Ten._ You make your body harder, and considerably slow the effects of aging. Then comes _Zetsu_ , which nullifies your aura. It is effective for concealing your presence and recovering from extreme fatigue. Which brings us to _Ren,_ a technique to create an especially strong aura…Can you feel that?"

"Yeah, I can feel the pressure." Was Killua's response.

"I can see a sort of hazy outline around your body." Harry's response seemed to surprise Wing slightly but the look was so quick it was actually hard to tell whether or not it was just his imagination.

"It doesn't feel dangerous though?" At Gon's question Wing gave a rather gentle smile before he answered.

"That's because I have no hostile intent… Aura is an energy that comes from within humans, which makes it very effective against other humans… For better or worse. If you attack a helpless person with ill intent, you can use aura to kill… Only one thing can protect you from someone who uses _Nen._ The ability to also use _Nen,_ which is what you all must learn. You must use _Ten_ for defense; block the other person's aura with your own. Otherwise… "

After a moment's pause Wing, who had moved over to the wall by this point, utterly crushed the stone foundation and left a human sized crater on wall with but a simple touch. Letting his actions speak louder than words for the moment. It was effective as he thought it would be Harry, Gon and Killua were left speechless and in shock.

"…Your body will be crushed. _Nen_ is a power that dwells within every person, however at present, only a few are capable of using that power. Thus, they are treated as geniuses, leaders, psychics, mystics or super-humans."

"A power that dwells within everyone…"

"Yes, and there are two means by which to awaken this power, the deliberate way and the aggressive way. Zushi underwent the deliberate method. He was a quick learner and trained hard so he was able to master _Ten_ in a very short time… about six months."

"That's too long! We need to learn _Ten_ and pass Hisoka's _Nen_ barrier before midnight or we can't register!" Wing retained his calm disposition even in the face of Killua's rather loud and aggressive words.

"Then you'll have to try the aggressive method."

"Will it be fast enough?"

"That will depend on you. Can you learn to hold your aura within your body before time runs out? That is the key... I will now direct my aura toward you, this is known as _Hatsu_ , which I demonstrated to you earlier on the wall… Naturally I will restrain myself since my objective is not to destroy your bodies. However, this way is still perilous as I will, in other words, attempt to shock you into awakening your aura. I will give your sleeping body a jolt so you can learn _Ten_ more easily. I say that your body sleeps because your body's openings, micropyles, are closed, meaning that your aura flow is stunted. Therefore, I will send my aura into your bodies to open your micropyles all at once. Under normal circumstances you would spend a long time meditating and discovering your own auras while slowly opening your apertures. Even Zushi, a natural talent, required three months to do so. However, you three could do it in a week or even sooner, which is why I find it unfortunate that we have such little time to work with."

"I don't really get it but quick and dirty is always better."

"While I agree with you this time, do I need to remind you of the last time you did something difficult the quick and dirty way Killua?"

"Shut up Harry! That wasn't my fault and you know it!

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say… princess."

"GAhh!"

The brother's interaction served to lighten up the mood in the home as the other occupants laughed light at Killua's attempts to punish Harry.

After everyone settled down though the serious mood returned and Wing spoke up once more. "This is a shady and highly frowned upon method. You will be ignoring the correct procedure and during the process you can even die if the person using this method on you was weak or held malicious intent."

Gon with his usual innocence and naivety was the one to respond to the unspoken question in Wing's voice. "But you aren't weak or evil, right?"

"…*sigh*…" Wing had no response to that.

Killua spoke up at this point, voicing the concern he had harbored until now. "What I want to know is why you would suddenly decide to teach us the true four major principles."

"Because I did not want to squander this opportunity. If you were to challenge the 200s with none of this knowledge you would suffer greatly. Up there everyone knows how to manipulate _Nen_ … and they have a special greeting for any newcomer ignorant of _Nen,_ a _Nen_ attack. In other words, they do what I'm about to, only they would do so without restraint and with evil intentions. They don't care even if people die… Only those who survive are allowed to pass, they are the chosen. However… they pay a steep price. That's why I wanted you to be prepared. Now, despite my attempts to scare you, you still wish to be awakened and I have confidence you will succeed in doing so. You have the potential as well as the ability. Put your belongings down, take off your shirt and turn your backs toward me."

Harry couldn't resist an opening like that. "Do I need to call for an adult Wing? Trying to get three young boys to strip in your home? I thought better of you. *Sigh* Why is it that every strong person we meet has an unhealthy obsession with young boys, Gon, Killua?"

Harry smirked as he watched Killua, Gon and Zushi struggle to contain their laughter, while Wing literally face-faulted in the background. Thankfully the man had very good emotional control and managed to easily calm himself down, and pick himself back up, by the time the three finished complying with his instructions.

The feeling of Wing's aura was incredible. It was hot and yet gave off no heat and the pressure was like a boulder was weighing down on them and Wing wasn't even physically touching any of them. To Harry and Killua the sensation was exactly what both of them felt at times coming from their brother, if less malicious, and, despite trusting Wing, a bit of cold sweat starting forming on their brows.

"Then… I'll begin."

With those quiet words the pressure surrounding all three suddenly amplified a hundred fold and they couldn't keep themselves from crying out from the pain, the shock and foreignness of the sensation overriding even the two Zoldyck's tolerance. Thankfully it didn't last long and the pressure faded, Wings voice filling in the now too quiet atmosphere in the room.

"Every micropyle on your bodies have been opened."

"What…What is this?" Gon's voice carried a hint of both awe and confusion.

"That is your aura, your life energy. You can see it now because the micropyles in your eyes were also opened or, as I suspect in your case Harry, finished opening."

"It's like smoke… or steam rising from the spout of a kettle."

"It's rushing out from every part of my body. It won't stop gushing out."

While Gon and Killua were paying attention to the aura around them Harry had other concerns. "That doesn't seem like a good thing, what do we do now Wing?"

Wing gave a proud smile as he replied. "You're right Harry. This is your life energy so if it continues to escape you will grow tired and, if you expend all your aura, you will collapse from fatigue or even die if you're unlucky."

"Really?" Harry didn't like the sound of that at all, though Wing seem unperturbed by the trio's sudden apprehension.

"Yes. Now, listen to me. You must concentrate on keep your aura within your body. Close your eyes!"

After the three complied with the order Wing gave a sharp nod, though it remained unseen by his new students, and continued with his instructions.

"Use any stance that helps you to focus, then visualize your aura flowing like blood through your body. From the top of your head, to your right shoulder, to your hand before passing through your legs, to the left side. And now visualize that flow beginning to ebb and hovering around your body."

It was like falling into a trance as Harry, Killua and Gon listened to Wing's words. It was as if their Aura was something that they'd always known about and used. Like it was the most natural thing in the world. And in only a few minutes the three had succeeded in forming their _Ten._ The three just continued to stand there, even after succeeding, simply reveling in the feeling of their own Auras for the first time. Wing gave them that time to themselves, having done a similar thing during his training, before he figured it was time to move on.

"Slowly open your eyes… How do you feel?"

Gon's answer was the most humorous. "I feel like I'm surrounded by some kind of warm mucus." Killua's the most normal. "Yeah, like I'm wearing weightless clothes." And Harry's the most emotional. "Or being completely engulfed by the feeling of a warm hug."

"Mm, continue to maintain those images. Once you've assimilated them you'll be able to use _Ten_ while asleep…"

And then the atmosphere changed as the trio could now both feel and see Wing build up his _Nen_ , his Aura bleeding into a light purple color and pushing out even further around his body than normal _Ten._

"Next I will use hostile _Nen_ against you, prepare yourselves!"

And then the room was filled with a malicious presence equal to the one Hisoka had previously thrown at them, only this time they weren't struggling to simply breathe. They could still feel the pressure and it was rather difficult to ignore the feeling of impending death but they felt they could move/act normally if they tried. Wing noticed this and gave the three youths context.

"Previously it would have been painful for you to stand within this."

"Yeah, I understand your blizzard analogy now."

"Good. Now if you can fend of my _Nen_ you'll be able to break through Hisoka's barrier… Here I come!"

The brief warning was all they received as what felt like a tidal wave of hostile _Nen_ crash over them. If not for their _Ten_ Harry could easily believe they would have died facing such an attack. As it was their aura was able to protect them from any harm, though the experience wasn't pleasant. Luckily it didn't need to be as simply doing so was enough to prove to Wing that they could get through Hisoka's barrier and register on the 200th floor. Something that all three were quick to run and do.

This time when facing down Hisoka's _Nen_ in the hallway it was a rather simple matter to keep walking through his attack until they were standing before him, at which point the attack was quickly ended leaving Hisoka looking very, very pleased, which made Harry very, very uncomfortable.

"Welcome… to the 200s. It appears I won't need to bother with continuing the tradition. I can guess why you've come to Heaven's Arena, you intended to train before challenging me… right? Gon?"

"Yeah, but I didn't expect to find you here, that saves me time."

"*chuckles softly* You should avoid being overconfident in your ability to use _Ten._ There is much for you to still learn about _Nen_."

When Hisoka brought up his hands and made a spade with pink aura Harry felt something strange. It was like someone was putting information on how he was managing that directly into his brain, one small piece at a time.

"To be honest, at present I feel no urge to fight you."

When the spade turned into a skull, the feeling Harry was getting got stronger and random bits of knowledge on how to manipulate his aura into shapes started appearing in his head. Before Harry could figure out exactly what was happening however Hisoka cut off his aura and the feeling disappeared, though he still the knowledge he had been given somehow. Not enough to actually work with at the moment, but enough to know that Hisoka was right about there still being much to learn about _Nen_ and more than enough to make him curious about what had happened to him _._ He didn't dwell on his thoughts for long however as he didn't want to take his attention off the mad jester.

"However… If you manage to win a single match in the 200s I shall accept your challenge."

With that said Hisoka promptly walked away without a further word and three youths moved on to finally register on the 200th floor. This process, while still rather simple and straightforward, was different from the other floors. Unlike the other floors they were given a sort of grace period of ninety days between matches for any preparation they might have. They could of course choose to have a match earlier but ninety days was the maximum before they _had_ to register a match lest they get kicked off the floor. The other difference was that ten wins were needed to clear each floor and that each floor had a "Floor Master" that they could only challenge after obtaining ten wins. If they lost four matches before getting ten wins they'll be kicked out of the floor the same as they would for not registering for a match. If they got ten wins however they could issue a challenge to become a Floor Masters, which were apparently the strongest twenty-one fighters in the Arena and received several perks, one of which was the right to participate in Battle Olympia, the ultimate fighting tournament in the world. None of three actually cared however and their non-pulsed reaction left the excitable receptionist rather flustered and annoyed, though she still did her job to the best of her abilities.

While the prospect of fighting strong opponents did slightly appeal to all of them, the "rewards" for becoming a Floor Master or winning on the top floor were a bit of a letdown. As a result, none of them particularly cared about competing in the Arena anymore, beyond Gon's desire to fight Hisoka, not when they have something like _Nen_ to learn about anyways. Gon, surprisingly (or rather unsurprisingly), instantly registered for a fight, too eager and impatient to win a match so he could fight Hisoka to wait and learn more about _Nen_ first. Neither of the Zoldycks tried to talk him out of it though, knowing it would be pointless, and after a quick round of paperwork, where several rather creepy looking fighters showed up to "coincidently" register for a fight, they were all registered on the 200th floor. Harry and Killua could actually smell the desperation coming from those fighters and, combined with their actions, told them that the three were small change on this floor and looking for an easy win. They informed Gon of such but their friend didn't care anymore than they did and soon enough they were handed their room keys, though decided to share one room together that night. It was like a sleepover and more fun that way after all.

The three had barely entered the room however, when they were notified of the date of Gon's match, which was tomorrow at 3 PM. The speed of it was rather shocking but Gon was more excited than anything, even though he admitted that he probably wouldn't be able to win. His desire to use the fight as a means of getting experience using _Nen_ was rather mature for their normally childish friend, even if it was stupid. Since it was so late however, the three decided to go to bed after sharing a quick bath in the suite's truly massive bathroom (which made Harry glade he had gotten used to communal bathing over the years he's been in this world). Thanks to the extremely comfortable bed, they woke up around 10 in the morning the next day and, after a large brunch, spent the time waiting for Gon's match simply relaxing. When the time came for the match all three left the room with Gon headed to the staging area and the two Zoldycks, by virtue of being competitors on the 200th and thus having guaranteed seats, to the stadium.

Gido, Gon's opponent for the match, was a man (at least they assumed he was a man, it was hard to tell) in a full body red robe with a gasmask and a single metal leg, with a wooden cane in his hand acting as an additional support. Unsurprisingly Gido was one of the three creeps who had showed up to register right after Gon last night so it was safe to assume that he was weak despite his 4 – 1 win, loss record, which meant it was unlikely Gon was in too much danger. Despite his weakness, Gido's fighting style was rather unique as he utilized _Nen_ infused tops to do battle, the sight of which instantly filled Harry with the same feeling he had gotten from Hisoka the night before. Gon struggled to cope with the man's attacks and Harry would have felt more worried if he wasn't suddenly distracted by the sensation of being filled with more and more information about how exactly Gido was manipulating his tops. It turned out to be actually rather simple. All Gido did was project concentrated Aura into his tops continuously to improve both their rotational speed and durability. He actually didn't have much control over the tops at all, being limited to giving them pushes in a general direction with near invisible aura blasts. Of course Harry did his best to suppress those thoughts so he could watch the match, to a limited degree of success.

The fight continued for several minutes, half way through which Harry finally stopped getting new information from Gido much to his silent gratitude, with Gon continuing to be on the defensive as he struggled to avoid getting hit by the randomly moving tops. The highlight of the match started when he suddenly stopped moving and his _Ten_ started to retracted for some reason, something Gon was quick to notice, though not quick enough to avoid a hit. One of the nearby tops jumped up and impacted against Gon's chest, sending him flying out of the ring. For several seconds he remained there, staring intently at the tops even as he faced a countdown for a ring out, ignoring the cajoling of the crowd. Gon finally started moving before the count hit 7 and, with a massive leap, launched himself towards Gido, completely bypassing all the man's tops, evidently picking up on limitations of his opponents weapons. While it was a good idea it ended up proving to be futile as Gido used _himself_ as a top, and thus satisfying Harry's curiosity about his metal leg stand, and, once Gon's attack landed, knocking the boy out of the ring once more. With that last blow the score was 9 – 0 and one more clean hit would result in Gido being declared the victor, as the matches went to either incapacitation or 10 points.

Gon was quick to return to the stage but upon doing so he remained frozen for several seconds, simply staring at the still spinning Gido. His next actions surprised everyone with the ability to see aura as Gon slowly retracted his _Ten_ , leaving himself defenseless. Surprisingly enough Harry didn't get any knowledge on how he did that, despite half-expecting himself to, though that might be because he already knew, or at least thought he knew, how he did it as removing your presence was essentially an assassination technique. He wasn't going to complain, it was a rather disconcerting feeling getting random bits of knowledge appearing in your head and he wanted to know if there were any risks involved with it before it got triggered again.

Harry could hear Killua loudly berating Gon for his reckless action but he himself kept his peace, having faith and their friend and waiting to see just what Gon was planning. Surprisingly enough it turned out his reckless act somehow enabled Gon to easily dodge all of Gido's attacks. His movements were efficient and sharp, and it was like he had suddenly grown eyes on the back of his head. Gon looked to be almost dancing as he continued to evade more and more tops for nearly thirty minutes until the inevitable happened. Gon made a simple mistake by jumping into the air, leaving himself unable to move under his own power and thus dodge further blows, resulting in him quickly being bombarded by several tops. In the end Gon lost the fight and his right Radius and Ulna were broken as was his Humerus, three ribs and twelve other bones with minor fractures throughout his body. According to the doctors it would be four months before he recovered, though Harry wasn't quite sure if _Nen_ might change that number or not.

Neither of the Zoldycks were particularly happy with their friend after learning of his injuries. Killua went so far as to call Gon a moron to his face for his reckless actions and try and throttle him. Gon apologized of course but Killua was in his fully worked up state and paid it little mind as he continued to admonish him, acting like a real mother hen. Harry kept quite through his tirade, both amused and rather pleased by his brother's attitude as it made for good blackmail for the future. It was at this point that Wing showed up and, without a word, walked up to Gon and slapped him in the face. All three of the other occupants were rather shocked by the mild-tempered man's actions, even though they could all understand the reason for them.

"What were you thinking!? Didn't you see those who'd suffered the traditional _Nen_ greeting? Didn't you remember the demonstration I gave you just last night? You could have ended up just like them! Or worse!"

"Yeah, that's what I just told him."

"Yeah, Killua literally just got done reading Gon the riot act."

"I see… *Sigh* Honestly, I'm just glad you weren't injured any worse."

"…Wing… I really am sorry." And Gon sounded sorry too, though that did nothing to move Wing at all.

"…No, I won't let this slide. Killua, Harry, do you know when Gon will have completely recovered?"

"The doctors say four months, though Harry here thinks that it might be sooner. He thinks that _Nen_ might help Gon heal though he doesn't have a guess on how much or why."

"I see; you're correct in your guess that _Nen_ speeds up healing Harry, though the rate is different for everyone. If I'd have to guess, I'd estimate that Gon will be completely healed in two months… That being the case I won't allow you to participate in any matches for two months. Nor will I allow you train in, or study about, _Nen._ If you don't abide by these rules, I will never teach you again... Well?"

"I understand. I'll do as you say."

"Mm… Give me your left hand."

Though confused Gon readily complied and Wing proceeded to tie a string around Gon's pinky.

"This is a promise thread; it will be a visual reminder of your promise. Killua, Harry, a moment please."

Killua, Harry gave Wing a nod and followed him out of the room, the tower and to a nearby park where he got to the point of calling them out, his face stern and his presence commanding.

"What is the true objective you three are pursuing?"

The two shared a look before Killua spoke up first. "Well, we don't really have an objective."

"Gon wants to fight Hisoka but that's more of a short term goal than anything. Other than that he wants to find his father who's a Pro Hunter. AS for us, we don't have any objectives. Killua and I just want to be with our friend."

"Harry's right. Before running into you and Zushi the plan was to earn some quick cash and get Gon used to fighting so he can get strong enough to beat Hisoka. It seems the others on the 200s want to be in that Battle Olympia thing but me and Harry aren't too interested. Gon supposedly only wants to fight Hisoka's but after watching his match I think he actually enjoys the thrill so who knows."

"You're saying he enjoyed a situation that could have cost him his life?" Wing sounded incredulous though there was a slight undercurrent to his voice that showed he didn't quite find the idea too farfetched.

"mmm… It's kind of easy to tell as we've felt the same way right Harry?"

"Yeah, though I'm more an adrenaline junky in general while I think Gon is more like Killua and simply enjoys fighting and combat."

Wing seemed troubled by the two's blunt statements and his worries were clear for the two training assassins to read.

"It's too late. Gon, Harry and I already know. If you regret teaching us and decide to back out we'll find someone else or we'll learn it ourselves. You don't have to feel responsible. Our brother and Hisoka can both use _Nen_ so we were bound to discover it eventually."

Wing looked a bit contrite before he relaxed his face and posture relaxed. "… I understand, and I mean to finish what I started. There are many things I must tell you. Zushi is waiting in my lodge, you two can train with him."

Harry and Killua shared a look before they replied as they walked back towards the tower. ""No, we'll pass. We won't leave Gon behind. We'll start training when he does.""

Wing couldn't help the shiver that crawled up his spine at the two's simultaneous speak but he recovered quickly enough to tell them one last thing before they got too far out of range.

"Tell Gon this: 'I will allow him to practice the other Nen'. Tell him to practice Ten daily."

The two Zoldycks gave Wing a lazy backward wave as they continued walking back towards the Tower. It didn't take them long to enter their room where, to their surprise, they already found Gon practicing Nen. Without another word, though sharing a brief smile, the two brothers joined their friend in meditation as they practiced their Ten. And so it went for the next month as the three youths spent almost the entire time they weren't either sleeping or eating working on their Ten. It was a rather strange activity for kids to do together but none of them complained, in fact all three rather enjoyed their meditations. Of course after a month the two Zoldycks needed a break so they decided to go see Hisoka's match against a prospective Floor Master which they hoped would be as interesting as it sounded. They also wanted Gon to come with them so, after picking up the tickets, they headed to their friend's room where they were met with the surprising sight of Gon doing hand-stand pushups looking completely recovered. Apparently Gon was fully healed, cutting even Wing's predicted recovery time in half, a full three quarters less than the doctors had estimated, which was scarily impressive.

Unfortunately, they got intercepted by Wing after they went out for lunch to celebrate Gon's recovery and he flat out refused to allow Gon to view the match with them. Despite being disappointed Harry and Killua decided to go anyway, after Gon reassured them he was fine with it. Of course the two Zoldycks made to sure "test" Hisoka's opponent, whose name was Kastro, before they wasted time watching the match first. As it turned out, he was as Kastro either managed to trick them both with an illusion or teleport behind them when they went to check out his room under _Zetsu_. They weren't sure which as they both saw him sitting on his couch through the cracked door before somehow he was behind them. Harry leaned more towards an illusion of some sort though as Harry had plenty of experience with teleportation himself and didn't notice any of the same signs, such as displaced air, as when he did it, which admittedly might not matter with _Nen_ but that was what he believed. Luckily they managed to get away without conflict, actually engaging the man in a rather pleasant, and informative, conversation about how to sneak up on _Nen_ users.

After that incident the two decided to head to their seats and, soon enough, it was time for the fight to begin. The fight started with a surprise as Hisoka instantly took a clean hit from a blow both of the Zoldycks swore he had dodged. Both remembered the incident in front of Kastro's room at that point and started coming around to the belief that the man used illusions of some sort. After some verbal sparring the incident repeated itself with Hisoka sent flying this time across the arena, though the jester managed to recover easily enough despite the heavy blow. Kastro kept up his attack and Hisoka continued dodging the blows as he calmly studied his opponent, as if analyzing a bug pinned to a display. That didn't last long though as soon enough Kastro once again landed a blow on Hisoka, though this time he somehow managed to appear behind the mad jester when he had previously been in front of him. For once Harry was actually bothered by the lack of a reaction from his understanding ability, as he really wanted to know how Kastro was doing that.

Hisoka voiced out loud several helpful observations but, much like the magician, Harry couldn't quite figure out what Kastro was doing, like there was a piece missing. Hisoka's opponent rather arrogantly dismissed Hisoka's ability to ever figure it out and readied an attack he claimed would take the magician's arm, which consisted of channeling green colored aura to his hands. He called it Tiger Bite Fist, which was a common move used by many martial arts masters, and it was rather simple to understand even without Harry's strange ability. All Kastro did was channel and compress a large amount of Aura into his hands when he executed the move. What shocked the whole crowed however was how Hisoka freely offered his left arm for Kastro to remove without any fuss and a cocky smirk on his face. Of course everyone thought it was a trap, including Kastro, so the man ignored it in favor of removing Hisoka's right arm instead, using his strange teleportation trick, as an illusion didn't seem likely anymore, to appear behind the psycho. Apparently losing a limb didn't actually count as a clean hit for some reason as Kastro didn't receive any points for the attack, who knew?

Anyways, Hisoka revealed that losing his arm was his plan all along to determine what Kastro was doing, his face an interesting mix of cocky, bored and amused at the same time. Apparently Kastro was using a doppelganger/double, and while the majority of the crowd, including Killua, didn't understand what he meant at first Harry was quick to pick up the meaning. Hisoka was proven correct when Kastro formed a clone out of his aura, and finally Harry's strange power activated and, ever so slowly, Harry started understanding how he did it. The process was much, much slower than when he watched Gido's tops, which made sense considering how much more complicated it was judging from the information he was getting. Unfortunately, because Harry really wanted to learn to make copies of himself, Kastro reabsorbed his doppelganger before he got little more than a sliver of information on how the technique was performed.

The fight resumed at that point as Kastro once again charged up his "True" Tiger Bite Fist (which consisted of using _Nen_ with his fists and summoning his doppelganger again, much to Harry's pleasure) with the intent of taking Hisoka's remaining arm. Said magician decided to taunt his opponent during their standoff by preforming a "magic" trick. Said magic trick being turning his severed arm into playing cards after covering it with a white cloth. It was kind of cool though despite knowing he used _Nen_ to do it somehow though Harry, like the rest of the audience, couldn't figure out the exact process. Then he performed another "magic" trick, though this one was much more mundane and was really just a complicated math formula. It served to fry Killua's brain so it was still entertaining for Harry though. Watching Hisoka pull the answer out of his arm stump however killed any good mood Harry, or the rest of the audience, had at that point.

The fight had kind of dissolved into a standoff at that point as Hisoka wowed the crowd with, to quote the announcer, "satanic-magic tricks" which was a fairly apt description of math according to Killua. Despite all the "dead" time in the fight Harry wasn't going to complain as he was learning more and more information about how Kastro made his clone. Of course Kastro didn't take kindly to being mocked by his opponent and his magic tricks so he readied his attack once again and, just like before, Hisoka once more freely offered his arm for his opponent to take. Kastro wasn't polite enough to turn down such an offer and readily launched himself forward to deprive the mad man of his remaining arm.

Also like before Kastro was successful and Hisoka was down another limb. Hisoka remained un-phased, that mocking/amused expression still on his face as he once more pulled a figurative rabbit out of his hat by revealing his now fully intact right arm. The fight ended quickly after that as Hisoka played a few mind games with his opponent and showed an ability to easily track the original Kastro despite his best attempts. Hisoka continued to mess with his opponent's head as he easily dodged the doppelganger's blows, until finally Kastro cracked and launched a desperate and sloppy attack in conjunction with his double. It was a bad decision as he was quickly intercepted by a punch from Hisoka's left arm, which was still severed and had flown in from out of nowhere, which left him reeling. The fight was over at this point as Kastro, dazed from the blow he took to his chin, was impacted by multiple playing cards and, just as Hisoka had planned/predicted, died in a frantic "dance".

The fight ended up being well worth the ticket cost and Harry was now in possession of the basics of how Kastro created his doppelganger. Of course he took Hisoka's parting words to heart about how Kastro wasted memory space learning a technique not suited to his strengths so he had no plans on practicing it in the near future. Not until he learned what his personal strengths were at any rate. Both he and Killua returned to their room quickly after the match, neither one opting to speak as they were caught up in their own individual thoughts on the fight. When they entered the room and Gon asked about the match Harry remained quiet and let Killua tell him about all about it. It was obvious Gon was curious about the details but settled for just the basics of the fight, likely in an attempt to follow the spirit of his promise with Wing as well as the word.

After watching Hisoka's fight neither of the Zoldycks went to see another match in the remaining month of Gon's punishment, instead opting to once again fill each day with meditation and training their Ten. Of course the trio were eager to finally start training in Nen so when Gon was finally done with his promise the three wasted no time in heading over to Wing's to continue their training.

"Gon, Killua, Harry. Starting today you'll train with Zushi. Gon, I'm pleased to see that you kept your word."

"It's thanks to your promise thread. A few times I almost gave in but when I looked at the thread I was able to control myself."

"That's because I added some _Nen_ to help you."

"Huh? Really?"

"Nope, I was lying." Gon nearly fell flat on his face at Wing's humor filled reply, much to the amusement of everyone else. Killua, once he stopped laughing, voiced the question circulating in the three friend's heads.

"….But how could you tell that he kept his word? He could have been practicing in secret."

"Because the promise thread remained intact. Gon, it's been a while but would you please try to use _Ten?_ "

"Is it really okay?"

"Of course."

Gon gave a happy smile before he closed his eyes and easily activated his _Ten_ which had shown some changes over the past two months. Wing, ever the teacher, used this opportunity to test his long time student.

"Zushi, what do you think?"

"It's amazing. His aura is flowing all around him, soft and calm but also very strong."

"Indeed, that is the benefit of regularly practicing Nen, good observation Zushi."

"I did it! Whew, I was worried that I might have forgotten how." Gon was incredibly excited to by his feat, his enthusiasm bringing a warm smile to Wing's lips.

"Once you've learned the technique you can't forget it. However, to become a master you'll have to train hard."

"But it felt easier than before despite not having practiced it at all."

"That was because you were training your spirit each day. I imagine that Killua and Harry will have a similar feeling when they try as well. Now, look at your left hand."

"huh? It snapped?"

"By applying my own _Nen_ I tied the thread such that if you broke your promise and used _Nen_ it would snap."

"That's possible? Can you do things like that to other items as well? Can you have a different affect other than simply snapping?" That could be incredibly useful to know, though Harry wondered why he didn't pick up anything when he locked at the string.

"Yes Harry it can be applied to other items and the effect can vary, though this is one of my own personal ways of using _Nen_ and might not suit you."

"I see…"

"Hey Wing, did you watch Hisoka's match against Kastro?"

"Yes I did; why do you ask Killua?"

"I want to know what ability Hisoka used. Could we send loose limbs flying around too?"

"Hmm, that's a difficult question… Gon, have you seen the fight on video?"

"No, not yet."

"Then I'll explain while we watch…" Wing seemed to have been prepared for this lesson as within moments he had retrieved a CD and played it on the TV. "Can you see the threads of aura extending from his left hand?"

"Threads of aura?"

"Yes. Can you see them?"

"No."

"I can't see a thing."

"I got nothing."

"Same here."

"Are there really threads of aura coming from Hisoka's hand?"

"Yes, Hisoka is using a technique that makes his aura difficult to perceive. It's a high-level application of _Zetsu_ known as _In_. When you use _In_ even the strongest opponents will find it hard to see your aura. The most effective counter is to focus the aura created by _Ren_ into your eyes, a technique which is called _Gyo_. The method Gon used in his fight with Gido might work as well, though I'd recommend against it as you can't take offensive action using it and it leaves yourself extremely vulnerable to damage. Now, my assignment for you three is to practice _Ren_ until you can see through Hisoka's _In_."

"Eh? Uh, master? What should I do?"

"Zushi, you should already be strong enough to see past his _In_."

"I should?"

"Yes. Show them your _Ren._ "

Zushi looked a little uncertain but he didn't hesitate for more than a moment before he stood up to comply with his master's command. With a deep breath followed by a loud shout Zushi was enveloped in a large shroud of aura. Though it was only slightly bigger than a normal _Ten_ shroud the feeling the aura gave off was several times denser.

"Now, direct that aura into your eyes."

"Yes!"

Slowly Zushi's _Ren_ died out and two vaguely fire shaped balls of aura covered his eyes, though Zushi appeared to be struggling to contain them as they flickered constantly like they were about to be snuffed out. Harry's still unknown ability started working as he watched their fellow disciple, and it worked fast. Maybe it was because Wing had already explained the process or because Zushi was correcting mistakes as he stabilized his technique but either way Harry had quickly understood everything Zushi did on how to use _Gyo_ within a few seconds. He was eager to test that knowledge but he restrained himself for now in consideration of Zushi's feelings.

"Good. So…can you see the aura that emanates from Hisoka's body?"

"Y-Yes."

"And? How many threads are there?"

"Twelve…? No, I think its thirteen?"

"Not quite, but you were close."

At that Zushi finally dropped his _Gyo_ panting heavily as he recovered from the strained of maintaining the new technique.

"I-I could really see them!"

"Mm, You're making excellent progress Zushi."

"Y-Yes. Thank you very much."

"By channeling all your power through _Gyo_ you achieved a level where you could see through Hisoka's _In_. But, with enough training, you'll be able to use _Gyo_ while fighting. Do you understand? First, practice _Ren_ and then master the application of _Ren_ known as _Gyo_. Then you'll discover the true nature of Hisoka's ability. And will you be able to use that same ability? My answer is both yes and no. Regardless of what Hisoka's precise power is so long as it uses _Nen_ you can learn it. However, _Nen_ powers depend on the particular individual. Each of us possesses different specialties and preferences. Thus, _Nen_ differs for each person. If you're serious about mastering _Nen_ you shouldn't merely copy other's abilities."

Harry gave a small internal wince at that though he already largely agreed with Wing after hearing Hisoka's words during the match.

"It's important that you first identify your own strengths. You've only just begun to develop; you haven't settled on one form yet. Initially, try to grow as much as you can, that is the purpose of this training. Train hard, play hard and enjoy life."

""""YES!""""

"The final day of Killua's and Harry's window to fight is June 9th while Gon, yours is the 10th correct?" I'd like you all to register on your final days. In the meantime, you'll train. You must learn _Gyo_ before it's time for your battle otherwise I'll make you forfeit."

With that the formal lesson for the day was over and Harry, Gon, Killua and Zushi all decided to head back up to the Gon's room (which more often than not was the two Zoldycks room as well) to practice their _Nen_. They ran into a bit of trouble on the way back in the form of the crippled/creepy trio. The one armed pasty faced one tried to coerce to register before his deadline, specifically Gon, but they just ignored them and kept going towards their room. Though Harry and Killua shared a brief look as a silent conversation occurred between them, in which Harry ultimately decided to let Killua handle the situation. That was later proven to be a prudent measure as Mr. pasty face tried to kidnap Zushi and use him as a bargaining chip though only Killua managed to keep them from doing so by agreeing to sign up with a match with him, which was their goal in the first place.

Of course before that ever happen the four aspiring _Nen_ users practiced _Ren_ , and eventually _Gyo_ ,in Gon's room. Harry, Killua and Gon all had more or less the same level of progress with the techniques surprisingly enough. Apparently Harry's knowledge was purely theoretical and none of the "muscle" memory was included with the rest of the info dump so he didn't have much of an advantage. He wasn't actually too beat up over the fact as he actually liked having to put effort into his tasks, even if that effort was much less than others might have to put and the results showed themselves sooner… poor Zushi. At least his aura was still stronger than theirs, for now at any rate. Though that didn't seem to comfort the kid as he decided to call their training for the day done at that point, likely to avoid being surpassed in only a few hours of work.

After they all parted ways Harry ended up waiting in his room for Killua to show up and fill him in on what happened with the creepy trio. He ended up getting a call from one of the crippled trio about them having Zushi and, despite knowing it was a lie, decided to humor them and sign up for his match early as he didn't feel threatened by these weaklings at all. When Killua showed up he told Harry he had signed up as well to free Zushi, though he also admitted that was only because he decided to not kill them. Apparently he wanted to live cleanly now, which Harry could understand as he didn't think that conviction would last very long regardless of his intentions, the world was just not a nice enough place for that. Still he would support Killua's decision and, if necessary, dirty his hands instead. He might dislike killing, even more than Killua, but he wasn't naïve enough to think he wouldn't be forced, or even want, to kill again at some point, like he had with the prisoner in the Trick Tower.

The next morning before the two went to Wing's home, they gathered some information on the crippled trio's ring leader, whose name turned out to be Sadaso. Needless to say what they found wasn't good and it flipped Killua's switch, scaring the poor ticket hawker they had been talking too quite badly. Harry knew Killua wanted to… educate Sadaso about the errors of his way after learning that Gon was now scheduled for match against the man as well but Harry managed to persuade him otherwise. Harry's match against the man was first after all and he knew just how to make their… displeasure known during the fight. Thankfully Killua agreed to refrain from taking any action, though it was a near thing. After Killua calmed down they made their way to Wing's house after that to inform their _Nen_ teacher of the situation and check on Zushi, though they ended up running into Gon as well much to both their and his surprise.

"Huh? Killua? Harry?"

"Gon you were here?"

"Y-yeah…" Gon sounded nervous but before they could pressure him about the reasons why, even if they knew them, Wing spoke up, ruining the chance.

"Killua, I believe you helped Zushi last night? Thank you."

"No problem Wing… How are you Zushi? You feeling all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I was probably just tired. Sorry to worry you."

"uhn. Ah, Wing. Can we watch that video again? Me and Harry learned how to use _Gyo_ last night."

The declaration served to shock the others, though Gon seemed more pleasantly surprised than outright stunned like Wing and Zushi. Once Wing recovered he was quick to take out the video and test the two Zoldycks ability to use _Gyo_. Killua was still struggling to maintain his _Gyo_ stably, though it was still very effective, while Harry managed to keep his _Gyo_ steady, though the strain was still visible on his face and body.

"Fifteen threads right?" Was Killua's answer, though Harry was quick to clarify to prove he saw them as well.

"Thirteen for the cards, one for the scarf and a fairly sneaky one leading back to his arm."

"Correct."

Wing continued the video at this point, testing their observation on a moving picture rather than a still one.

"His aura appears to expand and contract."

"Or maybe it attracts objects, kind of like a magnet?"

"It has to be one of those, otherwise why would his arm reattach."

"Or fly into his opponent's chin from across the room."

"It's probably the former. His aura is elastic, like rubber."

"That would explain most of his tricks, though his aura is probably sticky as well, otherwise how else could it attach to objects so easily and not snap under the strain of tossing objects with such thin strands."

Wing gave a proud smile at the two Zoldyck's observations. "Very good, you both pass. I'm impressed, your thoughts on Hisoka's _Nen_ mirror my own. But I'm also surprised, I didn't expect both of you to learn _Gyo_ overnight as well."

"Huh? Gon learned _Gyo_ as well?"

"Uh-huh, but I still couldn't figure out Hisoka's power like you two."

"That's just a product of experience and training Gon, eventually you'll be able to do so as well, so don't get too down about it."

"Ah, thanks Harry."

"*ahem* So, Killua, Harry, since you finished your assignment I assumed you two want to fight yes?"

"Well, more like we already have fights scheduled but yeah pretty much. I assume Gon is the same?" Gon just laughed sheepishly at Harry's light accusation.

"I understand, and when are all your fights?"

"Mine's the May 28th, Killua's is the 29th. Gon?"

"May 30th."

Wing gave a put upon look at his three newest students. "*sigh* That's fine. I underestimated how fast you could learn. Spend the remaining days practicing _Ten_ and _Ren_. Also, be sure you get plenty of practice, rest and sleep."

"""Yes!"""

As they walked back to the tower Gon proved just how sharp he could be when he put his mind to it by easily sussing out both the Zoldycks had been "threatened" into signing up to fight as well. When they confirmed it Gon got quiet angry, though Harry was easily able to get him to calm down when he explained how he'd make sure to teach Sadaso a lesson for his stunt. Gon was still upset though and wanted to beat him up but luckily he refrained from doing anything rash and getting disqualified for sabotage. The three made it back to their rooms without further incident and all three settled in to practice their _Nen_ some more before turning in for the night. Which was their pattern for the remaining 15 days before Harry's match, wake up, practice _Nen_ , visit Wing, go back and practice _Nen_ and then sleep. Simple and boring but worthwhile all the same.

Finally, it was the 28th and it was time for Harry's match, though only Wing and Zushi showed up to watch it live. Killua decided not to as he didn't think it'd be interesting and Gon didn't because he had faith in Harry and wanted to spend his time practicing, which he felt was more important. Harry didn't mind at all. He didn't want to fight this match any more than Killua wanted to watch it and wouldn't have showed up if it wouldn't have sent send the wrong message. He had never had the inclination to bully the weak before and he didn't suddenly develop one now either so the match was more of an irritant and necessity so he could convey his message than anything.

The match started off simply enough, with Sadaso trying to come up with witty taunts and failing badly which Harry just let him do, opting to simply stare at the man impassively until he finished instead of responding. Of course Sadaso proved to like the sound of his own voice as he didn't stop talking for a full two minutes, much to the crowd's (and Harry's) annoyance, but when he finally did Harry wasted no time acting. He flicked on his switch and went into his assassin mode, his eyes growing cold and desolate as an ominous presence, separate from his aura, engulfed the arena, serving to unnerve both Sadaso and the ringside judge greatly. Harry then calmly walked toward his opponent, making absolutely no sound, and Sadaso proved just how much of a coward he was by breaking out in cold sweat and even retreating slightly as he drew closer. This was a deliberate ploy by Harry to make the man panic and give him an opening in which to take him down with a single blow, that and it served as part of the coward's punishment. Of course with _Ten_ it wasn't quite possible to literally end it with a single blow, yet, but all Harry needed to do is take him to the ground where he would be able to convey his message properly.

It worked out just as he planned and, when he was only a bit under two meters away from his increasingly frightened opponent, he lashed out desperately with his killing move "the invisible hand", which was really just an arm made of aura. Harry easily dodged the blow and with a burst of speed, which was fast enough to make him disappear from most people's eyes, he appeared right behind Sadaso, who was in a full blown panic as he desperately searched the arena for any sight of Harry. Harry give him a few moments to figure it out and to subtly increase his terror before he lashed out with his hand, its form already manipulated to increase his grip strength, and caught the one-armed fighter by the back of the neck where, upon doing so, he promptly slammed him in the ground with crushing force, leaving a massive crater in the meters thick stone slab. Harry didn't let go of the man's neck even as he bent down to whisper in his opponent's ear. His tone as cold as ice and as empty as the void.

"Move and I'll kill you. Try and use your _Nen_ and I'll kill you. Make a sound and I'll kill you. Do anything but lay in the dirt like the worm you are and I'll kill you. Got it?"

While Sadaso was too terrified to move Harry could tell his words were understood by the amount of sweat now trickling down the back of the man's head so he calmly continued speaking.

"Good…Now do you know what happens when you threaten my friends and brother?" Harry's killing intent made Sadaso hallucinate being torn into pieces, causing the man to nearly piss himself in terror, something that Harry noted as he continued to speak. "I'm sure you do… Now… I'm going to release you and you're going to get up slowly and when you get back on your feet, you're going to forfeit the match otherwise I'm going to rip off your remaining arm and beat you to death with it. After you do that I never want to see your filthy face ever again otherwise your death will be long, drawn out and painful. That's a promise."

Sadaso by this point had finally soiled himself from sheer terror he was in but he still followed Harry's orders and flat out ran away as fast as he could after forfeiting the match. The audience was rather stunned by this turn of events but after a brief moment of hesitation they gave the young fighter polite applause, which Harry largely ignored as he walked out of the arena. Harry returned to his room after that and was met by Killua, who took a certain amount of pleasure from hearing Harry's retelling of his "match" being the sadist that he was. Gon didn't bother asking what had happened being too caught up in his training so Harry simply joined him, though Killua decided to take care of a few "errands". Said errands being intimidating/blackmailing the remaining two members of the crippled trio into playing fair.

The next day Sadaso was a no show at his match with Killua, the same with the day after that for his match with Gon, so it seemed like the man had rather good survival instincts if nothing else. For the next four days the trio did nothing but continue to practice _Nen_ and attend lessons with Wing until finally it was time for Gon's and Killua's next matches. Gon's was a rematch against Gido that ended rather easily with Gon's victory. Gon had actually brought out his old fishing road for the match and ended up using it to hook himself the massive stone slab Gido was spinning on and launch it several meters into the sky. Gido, obviously couldn't land properly considering his missing limbs, and ended up giving up when Gon shattered the man's prosthetic leg with his bare fist. An hour later it was Killua's fight against Reihvelt, the last member of the crippled trio, and it was marginally more entertaining than Gon's match was.

For a man confined to a wheel chair Reihvelt was surprisingly fast as he was actually able to use a burst of condensed aura to dodge Killua's opening move. The man's weapon of choice however proved to be his downfall, said weapons being dual wielded electrical whips. Neither of the Zoldycks were strangers to the movements of whips and Reihvelt was barely faster than Milluki in terms of whip speed sadly enough. What was even more unfortunate was that his "trump card" was sending electric currents amounting to a total of a million volts all together through his whips. For a normal person that would be enough to knock them out instantly but the Zoldyck family used electricity extensively for torture resistance training, and one million volts was what they used as for the intro lesson. In the end Killua won the match by tossing Reihvelt into the air before catching him, with the electric current still continuing to flow through him, knocking the man out instantly.

The next day Harry was scheduled to fight against Gido but when the time came Gido forfeited the match due to his damage from his fight against Gon, he didn't have a leg to stand on since Gon broke his prosthetic so it wasn't surprising. As a result, the trio decided to treat it as a rest day and simply spent the time goofing off without worrying about _Nen_ for a change. It was good way to relax and they all felt better for it when they went to bed that night.

The next morning it was Killua's turn against Gido, who once more forfeited the match, and Gon was against Riehvelt. The match was slightly harder for Gon than it was Killua as the man was more on his guard than before and made extensive use of his aura burst technique (enough so that Harry full understood how it worked by the end of the fight). Gon ended up winning the fight with a fake out when he threatened to use Riehvelt's whips against him and the man passed out from the fear of being electrocuted. As that was his 4th loss Harry's scheduled fight against him was cancelled, though unfortunately it didn't count as a win, so the three spent the next few days simply training in _Nen_ once more. They all doubled down on their normal training schedule once Gon told them that Hisoka gave the ok to fight him though. Thankfully that night, in light of their success, Wing finally decided that it was time to move on to the last part of basic _Nen_ usage so they had more to practice than before. The lesson was on _Hatsu_ and it was during this lesson that Harry finally found the answer to what his ability to obtain knowledge on _Nen_ techniques he saw came from.

"Today, we will finally begin to train in _Hatsu_. Once you master _Hatsu_ you will have learned all the basic principles of _Nen_. After that you will need to work on developing you individual _Nen_ style."

""""Yes!""""

" _Hatsu_ is the technique by which you control your _Nen_. It is the culmination of _Nen_ and there are six distinct categories. Enhancers are able to strength objects, Emitters can propel their aura, Transmuters can alter their aura's qualities, Conjurers are able to manifest their aura, Manipulators can use their aura to control objects and creatures, and Specialists are those with a special aura that doesn't fall in the other five classes. The key is to find the power that suits you."

"The power that suits you?"

"Yes. _Nen_ is linked to individual ability with two areas of particular prominence. The first would be your natural potential. The second would be potential refined later in life. Gon, for example, was born with a flexible, springy body. His acute senses were the product of a childhood spent in nature… From the moment of birth your _Nen_ aura falls within one of the six categories though it is possible, albeit incredibly rare, for your _Nen_ aura to later change types. If you attempt to learn an ability that does not fit your inclination you will find it very difficult."

Wing walked to the whiteboard at this point and drew a hexagram, making each point with a _Nen_ classification. Enhancer on top and, going clockwise, the order was Transmuter, Conjurer, Specialist, Manipulator and Emitter.

"This Hexagram depicts the relationship among the six categories. The closer a class is to your own the higher your compatibility to learn it, bar rare exceptions in the Specialist class. If you are born as an Enhancer for instance you will find those abilities to be easiest, followed by the adjacent Transmuter and Emitter classes. The Specialist class, on the other hand, which is furthest away, would be incredibly difficult. To illustrate I'll use skills that you've already seen for yourselves.

Hisoka was able to change his aura into a rubbery substance, he was a Transmuter. Gido used his tops and body as weapons by making them spin faster, he was actually an Enhancer. Of course controlling all those tops is a Manipulator skill so he had rather poor results. As for Kastro his Tiger Bite was very strong so he was probably an Enhancer, however he focused his energy on making a doppelganger, which was a Conjurer's skill, so his efforts weren't very effective, especially since controlling it to such a degree was a Manipulator's skill."

"So neither were compatible with his natural aura type?"

"Indeed, it requires a great deal of work and natural talent to learn an incompatible ability and as a result he squandered most of his _Nen_ potential."

"So he made the wrong choice then basically."

"He was a great fighter…it's a shame." Zushi sounded disappointed when he said.

Harry however didn't agree at all with Zushi's statement. "Not really Zushi, while he had talent he was more concerned with showing off than actually fighting so I wouldn't call him great." Zushi looked like he wanted to argue but stopped upon looking at Wing.

"hmm… well? Do you see the importance of understanding your own auras and inclination?"

""""Yes!""""

Killua ended up voicing the question they all wanted to know the answer to. "Given that, is there any way to learn which category your aura falls into?"

Wing gave a smile. "Of course."

Wing proceeded to bring out a clear glass cup and placed it on the table before proceeding to fill it to the brim with water and, for some reason, placing a free green leaf on top. Thankfully Wing didn't take long to explain his actions to the confused children.

"Water Divination: A Shingen-ru technique for classifying your aura, it's also used in _Hatsu_ training. Its use is simple, you just place your hands besides the cup and use _Ren_. The result will reveal your category."

Wing proceeded to give a demonstration and, with a flair of his aura, he made the water overflow from the cup. The odd thing about it though was that the volume of water didn't seem to be going down within the cup at all, which proved to be accurate observation when Wing cut his aura and showed the cup to still be completely full despite the puddle formed around it.

"If the cup overflows that means you are an Enhancer and my demonstration shows that my aura falls in the Enhancer class… Okay, now it's your turn."

Gon was first to do the Water Divination and he proved to be an Enhancer when a small trickle of water flowed off the cup. Zushi was second up and he turned out to be a Manipulator when he made the leaf on top of the water move. Killua was third and, after a bit of confusion, it was determined he was a Transmuter after he made the water slightly sweet tasting. Harry went last and his change was the most unique. Not only did his water overflow, it also developed impurities, changed color slightly, turned slightly sweet, and he even made the leaf move against the small current caused by the water overflowing.

"Hey Wing… what does that mean? Does that mean I fall under all _Nen_ categories or something?"

It took Wing a bit to respond, evidently just as surprised, if not more so, by the change as everyone else.

"Ah. No, a person only ever falls under one category. Your reaction means that you are a Specialist, as any other change during the Divination falls under that category, though your specific reaction might mean that your Specialist trait is that you have high affinities in all _Nen_ categories."

"Specialist trait?"

"Ah sorry, I didn't explain that, though to be honest I never thought you'd be a Specialist as they are incredibly rare. Anyways, a Specialist trait is sort of a catch-all term for the unique _Nen_ ability of a Specialist. This can be anything from the ability to predict the future to copying other's _Nen_ abilities."

"So that explains it…"

"Explains what Harry?"

"Ah…Well after you unlocked my aura something weird has been happening. Anytime I saw a _Nen_ technique I didn't know I would slowly start receiving knowledge on how to do it the longer I saw it in action. It was part of the reason why I mastered _Gyo_ so fast."

"That's fascinating. What are the limitations if you know any? And what techniques do you know how to do."

"The only limitations I've found so far are that the more complicated the technique the longer I have to observe it to figure out how it works, that and it's all theoretical knowledge and I can't instantly replicate them. As for techniques well… I know how to use Gido's tops and Riehlvelt's Aura Burst completely while I only have the very basics on how to make a doppelganger from Kastro. I don't actually know anything about Hisoka's technique though as I didn't actually _see_ him use it during the match and I didn't get anything from seeing it on the TV, which I guess is also a limitation. I have to actually see a technique being used actively in person for it to trigger."

"I see…" Wing fell silent as he processed this information, leaving everyone else to fill in the silence.

"Wow Harry that's awesome!"

"Harry you stinking cheating bastard! That's how you learned _Gyo_ before me! Give me back my Pocky!"

"That's so cool Harry… I wish I had something like that."

Harry was rather relieved that none of them took his revelation too badly. Well except for Killua who was trying to maul him for tricking him out of his pocky stash but he knew he was just playing around… mostly. Once again the two brothers ended up being the source of humor for their teacher and friends, not that either of them had enough attention to spare, being locked in a "death match" like they were. Wing let them fight it out for a bit before stepping in.

"Alright, alright settle down you two. Now that you four know how your auras are classified are there any questions?" Wing waited a bit but received no response. "No? Then all that's left is to train hard so that your Water Divination results become more pronounced."

And that's what all four of them did for the next twenty-nine days. Day in and Day out, sometimes even skipping out on meals and sleep, the four young children continued to polish their _Ren_ while practicing Water Divination until it was time for their final test on July 9th. Gon made sure to remember to schedule his fight with Hisoka, deciding on July 10th for the date, but he was the only one to register for a fight, as Harry and Killua no longer saw the point in doing so. On the scheduled day for their progress check with Wing the trio of friends made their way down their teacher's house after eating a nice lunch near the tower's plaza. Wing wasted no time getting right to the point of their meeting when the three showed up.

"Now, show me what you've accomplish with your training. Killua, you're first."

Killua readily stepped up to the divination cup and, after a few seconds of flaring his aura, he was done. Everyone dipped a finger in the water for a taste, bar Killua, and they were all shocked by the sweetness.

"Amazing."

"Wow, it tastes like honey."

"I guess eating all that candy _was_ good for something neh Killua?"

"Excellent work Killua. Zushi, you're next."

It was clear that Zushi was struggling much more with the exercise than Killua but it was also clear he had made progress when he was able to turn the leaf about 20 degrees to the left before collapsing. A marked improvement from before but not enough to get Zushi a passing grade from Wing.

"Good job Zushi, but you'll need to train some more."

"Y-Yes."

"Gon, you're next."

When it was Gon's turn he decided to overturn even Wing's most optimistic guesses on his progress. He did this by not only causing a massive overflow but even causing a hole to open up in the glass due to the water pressure. Wing frantically tried to mop up the overflow as he tried to get Gon to cut his aura.

"Stop! Stop Gon! …*sigh* you really are something huh? I'm going to need to get a new glass for Harry now."

"heh. I was feeling pretty good about this."

Wing gave a wry smile. "I can tell."

Thankfully Wing had a lot of the same glass cups so it didn't take long for Harry to take his turn. When Harry flared his aura around the cup the changes were just as dramatic as Killua's and Gon's, though likely because of the various different types of changes his results weren't as strong. Still, despite that the effect was quite stunning. The water turning a striking green color the same shade as his eyes and multiple pea sized impurities appeared within. In addition, the water overflowed from all sides as the leaf spun in circles like a top as the water itself tasted like diluted honey. All in all, Harry though it was both impressive and cool display and everyone else did too.

"That's so cool."

"Nice! Harry."

"Good job Harry… hey Wing does the color the water change into have any meaning?"

"Very well done Harry, and yes Killua the color it turns into is the natural color of a person's aura. When aura is condensed enough this color starts to show, that's why Hisoka's _Nen_ was pink and Kastro's Tiger Fist was green."

"Hehh, that's interesting."

"You're just like your friend and brother in liking to completely blow past my expectations aren't you Harry? Anyways. Harry, Gon, Killua today is your graduation day. Congratulations. Zushi, you still need to train a bit more."

"Really?"

""Awesome!""

"Yes master…"

"Keep at it Zushi."

"Yeah don't let us get you down Zushi."

"You can do it!"

"Thanks guys…"

"Also Gon, Harry, I have something important to tell you."

"Something important?"

"What is it?"

"Gon Freecss, Harry Zoldyck, you have passed the Secret Hunter Exam! Congratulations, you've passed and are now official Hunters."

"The Secret Hunter Exams?"

"What do you mean that we're now official Hunters? I thought we were Hunters as soon as we got our Licenses?"

"Mmm you're both right and wrong Harry. You're really only provisional Hunters after getting your license, you can take some requests but are restricted from much of the more dangerous tasks and most information sources. You are required to learn _Nen_ before becoming an official Hunter as pro Hunters are expected to be exceptionally strong, strong enough to survive where normal humans, even those with your natural strength, can't. One of your basic tasks as a Hunter is too fight monsters, criminals and evildoers, and that requires strength! However, this power is highly destructive in the wrong hands so revealing the existence of _Nen_ during the official Exam would be dangerous. Therefore, this test is only administered to those who pass the public Exam."

"Eh? So you were going to teach us, or at least Harry and Gon, all along then…"

"Yes. I should mention that the head Shingen-ryu master is Chairmen Netero?"

""That shitty old geezer!?""

"Mr. Chairman?"

"Haha yes, master told me a lot about you three, especially you Harry and how much of a disrespectful brat you were…" Harry just whistled innocently, which made Wing deadpan briefly before he recovered. "*cough* Ahem. Killua! Please take the Hunter Exam again, you will definitely pass next time. You are more than qualified, I guarantee it."

"Y-Yeah, if I feel up to it and not because you asked me!"

"Haha, you're such a tsundere Killua."

"Shut up Harry!"

As the two descended into another sibling squabble, which the other's ignored, Gon decided to ask Wing about the others. "Hey Wing, have you heard anything about the others who passed?"

"Sure. Hanzo and Kurapika have learned _Nen_ from other teachers. Pookle is struggled with _Ren_. Leorio has begun studying for the medical school exam so he's only just started learning _Ten_. While Hisoka and Illumi already knew _Nen_ so they had qualified automatically to be official Hunters."

"I see, Leorio and Kurapika must be working hard then."

Wing gave a smile before his demeanor turned stern. "Now then Gon, I have one warning for you. When you fight Hisoka tomorrow don't push yourself too hard. All right?"

"Yes sir!"

Gon, Harry and Killua spent a couple more hours at Wing's house just talking with their, now former, master and fellow disciple before leaving as Gon wanted to make sure he'd get enough rest for his fight against Hisoka, which meant turning in early for the night. While Gon seemed unconcerned about the fight, bar some (read a lot of) excitement, Harry and Killua were, though they didn't show it. Neither trusted Hisoka not to decide to simply kill Gon during the fight regardless of how interested he was in their friend. He was psychotic after all and it's hard to predict what he might do at any given point in time. As a result, none of them got very restful sleep that night, though the lack of sleep bothered them much less than their own anxiety.

The fight the next day was one to remember, for both good and bad reason. The fight itself ended up being good but Harry did not need to see Hisoka get a boner before the fight even began, that was going to be nightmare fuel for weeks, though Gon (luckily for him) apparently didn't notice. The fight began with Gon going strong at first as he launched an absolutely blistering array of blows, mixing in punches, kicks and even an elbow or two. However, Hisoka easily managed to dodge them all without even moving a foot away from his initial position until he decided to retaliate. Gon's "combo" was broken at that point as Hisoka knocked him back with a strong kick to the chest, though Gon wasted no time recovering as he once again resumed his assault. Again his combo failed to land a blow before it was interrupted by a blow from Hisoka, this time a palm thrust that knocked the air from his lungs, though Gon once again went back in for me. The result was the also same only this time he got an elbow to the nose for his troubles, not that that deterred Gon at all.

This kind of pattern repeated itself several more times before Hisoka landed a much heavier blow than the previous times to Gon's face scoring his first points of the match. After that Gon took a few moments to center himself as the two fighters faced off against each other. When the fight resumed it was once again Gon who made the opening move, launching himself into a frontal charge against Hisoka before turning it into a very fast series of faints that managed to leave a few faint afterimages, which he used to and distract Hisoka before Gon decided to make use of his greatest weapon. His simplicity and brute strength. Taking a page from his earlier matches Gon ripped up one of the large stone tiles from the arena and chucked it at Hisoka, smashing it into pieces to use as a smokescreen. His plan actually worked as while Hisoka was busy breaking up the large chunks of stone coming at him, Gon snuck in and delivered a strong punch to the magician's face. The crowd was stunned briefly before bursting into cheers as Gon earned his first two points of the match (the blow counted as a critical for some reason despite the lack of real damage).

At this point the fight entered a brief interlude as Gon was finally able to return Hisoka's badge thanks to his hit, following which Hisoka gave an explanation on his method of determining a person's aura class based on their personality. He hit the nail on the head with all of them based on Harry's experience so far. Enhancers were simple and earnest (Gon and Wing). Transmuters were fickle and dishonest (Hisoka and Killua). Emitters have short tempers (Harry bet all his money that Leorio was an Emitter after hearing that). Specialists are independent (Harry himself, which he only partially agreed with, though Killua seemed to think it was correct). Conjurers are high-strung (Harry bet that was Kurapika's classification with Killua, who put his money on him being a Specialist). And Manipulators are argumentative (that was Zushi though it didn't match Harry and Killua's perceptions of their friend, but apparently Wing thought that was right). Of course Hisoka had to go and make it weird by stating that he and Gon were "compatible" and they could "become very intimate".

Thankfully the fight resumed at that point before anyone was traumatized, with Hisoka leading the charge at this point, manhandling Gon across the ring for a full minute at first before he managed to center himself and start reacting better to the magician's hits. The exchange lasted several bouts until Hisoka ended it with a devastating blow to Gon's back, earning him a critical hit putting him at 3 points to Gon's 2. Another brief pause in the fight occurred as Gon tried to recover from the blow, which Hisoka decided to allow for a bit before he got impatient. At this point he decided to use his _Nen_ and Harry was quick to use _Gyo_ to see what was going on. As expected information about the technique started coming to Harry, though the rate was even slower than when he saw Kastro's doppelganger. Unfortunately, Gon wasn't so quick to remember the technique, waiting until Hisoka himself managed to remind him by starting to pull on his cheek (where the aura was attached). After a brief struggle Gon lost the first against Hisoka and was pulled in by his _Nen_ , receiving an absolutely brutal blow to the head upon reaching the jester. Hisoka was awarded a critical hit and down, bumping his score up to 6.

Hisoka at that point decided to try and play mind games with Gon while letting him recover by giving him a small quiz and a chance to get a free attack. Gon naively tried to answer the question but Hisoka proved to simply be messing with him, like everyone else thought he was, as the answer was the 4th response out of three choices. After that the mad jester decided to give them insight into his technique, which was rather enlightening to Harry at the very least, before deciding to finish the match. Gon, faced with the prospect of being unable to escape, decided to simply attack Hisoka straight on, which garnered a rather disturbing reaction from the man, one that even Gon caught this time. Thankfully the reaction was enough of a distraction to allow Gon to get in a large number of blows to Hisoka's face, though they proved rather ineffective as it seemed to only make things worse. Eventually however, Hisoka snapped out of his… mood and retaliated, sending Gon flying with a devastating punch, though Gon managed to get his guard up in time to block out. Unfortunately, that didn't matter as both he and Hisoka were awarded critical hits anyways, with Hisoka receiving an additional point for a knockdown. This meant that Gon was one point away from being declared the loser.

The call was rather controversial but the referee couldn't be swayed from his decision despite the heckling from the crowd and the match continued. When it restarted it looked like Gon was preparing for a last desperate assault when Hisoka once more pulled a trick out of his hat. Gon had dropped his _Gyo_ at some point so he didn't notice when Hisoka attached his Bungee Gum to a piece of debris, causing the head sized rock to be launched into Gon's face, where it landed cleanly and knocked him to the ground. That was declared a clean hit and down for Hisoka and he was promptly declared the winner. While disappointing Harry and Killua were just glad Gon was alive and relatively unharmed so they quickly got over it, Harry buoyed by the fact he learned a lot about Hisoka's _Nen_ during the fight.

Harry, Killua, Wing and Zushi met up with Gon after allowing the crowd to disperse somewhat, and he turned out to be surprisingly okay with his loss, simply stating that he'd train harder for next time. After that the trio said their goodbyes to their former master and disciple. As neither Harry not Killua really had anywhere they wanted to go they asked Gon what he wanted to do until they went to Yorknew. Seeing as he accomplished his goal of returning Hisoka's badge Gon decided he was going back to Whale Island to see his aunt Mito again. Harry and Killua decided to invite themselves along at that point, not that Gon seemed upset by their decision at all.

The travel time to the island ended up being three days thanks its remoteness. One day for the airship to the nearest location to the island. Another day to travel to the port town and find a boat headed in that direction and the last day spent entirely on traveling the distance between the port and Whale Island on said boat. They ended up arriving about an hour before noon and almost instantly Gon took off running in the direction of his home. Harry and Killua trailed behind at a more sedate pace and were surprisingly enough instantly identified by Gon's aunt, who greeted them warmly. They later found out that Mito despite being a kind person, was rather bossy and used to getting her way. It wasn't a bad thing but it left both Harry and Killua feeling rather bemused at times, like when she ordered the three boys to take a bath and let her wash their clothes for dinner even though it was several hours away at that point.

The three friends spent the rest of the day having fun exploring the island together and simply being kids. Whale island was a rather beautiful place and the three young boys had lots of fun, though they ended up being a bit late to return to Mito's home, much to said woman's ire. They had been discussing their future plans while watching the stars, which then turned into a more emotional, heart-to-heart conversation which made them lose track of time. Killua aired his insecurities about not having a goal in life while Harry admitted he felt like he was little more than a clone of his brother at times. It was painful admitting as much but Gon proved once again how good a friend he was at this junction by easily dispelling their fears and declaring how he simply liked them for who they were and didn't care about anything else.

Later on it was Harry's and Killua's turn to comfort Gon as he brought up his insecurities about finding out about who his birth mother was and asking Mito for information on his father. Harry could relate to that and told Gon about his being adopted and his life before the Zoldycks at that point. Harry had to admit, if only to himself, that he was jealous of his relationship with Mito. Harry missed his mom, despite barely having any memories of her other than the night she died and the bits and scraps he desperately clung to. Despite what he was forced to call Kikyo, he did not see her as his mother, and seeing his friend have what he always wanted had simply made him feel a bit bitter, though Gon's sympathy and general attitude was enough to dispel those feelings. They decided to head back to Gon's home at that point and, as Harry and Killua set up their beds, Gon received all information Mito had about his dad, along with the only thing he left behind.

The next morning Gon told them everything he learned and all three tried to open up the keepsake Gon's father left behind, a completely solid metal cube. Killua tried brute forcing it but even with his strength it refused to open. Seeing that not work Harry then tried something different and injected it with his aura, remembering Wing's trick with the promise string, which proved to be the correct "key" for the box. Of course inside the box was another box, which didn't amuse Harry at all, though thankfully it wasn't as annoying to open. To open the box all that was required was Gon put in his Hunter's License in the available slot, after which the box revealed its contents: a ring, a cassette tape and a memory card. The ring had familiar looking patterns engraved on it, like those on Wing's promise thread and the steel plates from the first box, making Harry curious about their function, but not enough to try it out, which he helped convince Gon of as well. The promise thread snapped when it was near aura and they didn't want the same happening to one of only clues Ging left behind after all.

Deciding to tackle the cassette tape instead Gon pulled out an old boom box from his closet and popped it in. As was expected it turned out to be a recorded message from Gon's father who, after giving Gon a chance to not hear the message, proceeded to, very bluntly, declare he didn't want to see his own son. His reasons were actually rather understandable, as he apparently had no idea to face the son he had abandoned to chase after his selfish desires instead, if a bit cold hearted. Harry thought he was a better dad than James was because of it honestly speaking. At least he knew he was a bad father and bluntly pointed that out incase Gon didn't realize that. He also gave Gon some rather encouraging words, as well as a challenge to find, which was pretty fatherly if you asked him. He even offered to tell Gon about his birth mother, though he decided to end the tape at that point. Apparently he thought of Mito as his mother to such a strong degree he didn't care about finding out about his birth mother at all. It was rather touching in all honesty, though the moment was ruined when the boom box was covered in _Nen_ and started erasing Ging's recorded message. They tried to stop it but nothing worked, not even unplugging it or even a full powered punch from Killua affected the "possessed" boom box, leaving them with nothing but a tape recording their frantic struggle, which was rather annoying.

With the ring too dangerous to test at the moment and the tape erased the only clue they had left was the memory card. Killua was quick to recognize what it was for, a memory card for a gaming platform called the JoyStation, though both Gon and Harry were clueless on the matter, neither having played much in the way of videogames. Killua, being the only "cultured" one amongst them, decided to go to the local shop to buy the system so they could see what was on it. As it turned out the memory card was the save data for a game called Greed Island, though not even Killua knew what it was until they looked it up.

They turned to the cybernet at that point for answers as Killua used the JoyStation to make a copy of the data for security purposes. They had no luck finding any copies of the game at first through standard stores and had to resort for looking up information on it through database websites to find out why that was. Greed Island was a hunting game for Hunters (with a capital H), and had a listed price tag of 5 billion, 800 million Jenny, which was something they simply couldn't afford at the moment. Even with Harry's savings and the money they won from the arena they only had a little over 1.4 billion Jenny. Which, while a truly massive amount of money for three twelve year olds, was still less than a quarter of the required amount for a single copy. Of course that was just the listed price and, since there were only 100 copies in total, the actual price they'd have to fork over money for was likely way higher due to simple supply and demand.

After posting a wanted ad that proved to be a wash, what with the massive number of false offers posted on it, the trio had to turn to another source for the game. As unpleasant as the thought was Harry and Killua decided to ask their brother Milluki about the game, believing that even if he somehow didn't have a copy of Greed Island that he would have more information on it than them. Harry let Killua called him, as between the two Milluki actually like Killua better as, apparently, he didn't appreciate Harry's snarky attitude the same way Killua did, it was quite sad really as Harry certainly loved using Milluki as his target.

In the end Milluki didn't possess a copy, though he had plenty information about the game, more than the site they were using even. He even gave them a lead on where they could find a copy after Killua promised him a memory card of the game (they were giving him the copied one and not the original). The first lead wasn't really worth it as he told them they could likely find information on the game on the "secret" Hunter's website. It was nice to have the address for the website but it wasn't immediately useful and they could have found it themselves eventually. The second lead however was worth the price. According to Milluki several copies of Greed Island were supposed to appear in the Yorknew Auction, which the trio were already going to be in town for anyways. Such a coincidence smelled too much like Fate or Destiny to Harry, who hated both terms ever since his sister was declared the Girl-Who-Lived and he overheard talk about how she was the "Chosen one". With a course of action set the trio spent one last night at Mito's before leaving for Yorknew early the next day.

Thankfully Yorknew City was rather close to Whale Island by ocean and, with some good weather, they arrived with plenty of daylight to spare, which meant all the shops were still open. The group quickly availed themselves with the computers at a random cyber café, which they used to access the Hunter's Website, as a result. What was rather annoying was that information on Greed Island cost a full 20 million Jenny to obtain, though experiencing getting sucked into the website by _Nen_ was almost worth it. The information was definitely interesting regardless as Greed Island turned out to be a game made by and for _Nen_ users, with the game itself possibly being made entirely of _Nen_ as well, according to the site. They also found out that a full seven copies would be on sale during the Yorknew auction at an estimated price of 8.9 billion Jenny each, confirming Milluki's lead while simultaneously crushing their hopes of easily obtaining a copy in the near future. Following that revelation, Killua and Gon made the "wonderful" decision to try and make money through buying and reselling items by auction online… they ended up going from 800 billion Jenny between them down to only 10 million. Luckily Harry hadn't tried his luck with the endeavor, so he still had his 600 million jenny savings left but he was pissed by the two's stupidity and let it be known to all and sundry. The trio were left rather depressed, or angry in Harry's case, for the rest of the day and none of them had any desire to do anything else so they checked into a hotel and turned in for the night, hoping tomorrow would be better.

It was as the next morning the three decided to wander the open air markets and simply see the sights. They had fun simply browsing the stalls for a while, serving to improve everyone's mood, until they found out the Gon didn't own a phone, upon which the two Zoldycks dragged him off to buy one immediately while Killua tried to drill some common sense into Gon's hard head. Surprisingly enough they ended up meeting Leorio of all people at the phone stall, who managed to talk them all into buying an interesting beetle shaped phone due to its wide array of functions (like being able to translate over 200 languages). Leorio even managed to talk down the price from 400,000 Jenny a piece to merely 110,000 each. Harry was actually impressed though he'd never admit it, he didn't bother hiding his laughter as Leorio was greeted with applause upon exiting the shop however.

The reunited friends ended up getting lunch and catching up with Leorio after that. The man was rather shocked after learning how Gon fought Hisoka and managed to return his number plate in Heavens Arena. He had a similar reaction after learning that he _did not_ in fact know _Nen_ , instead only having only just gotten to the point he mastered _Ten_. After a bit of ribbing from Harry they told Leorio about their desire to obtain a copy of Greed Island, and the price for a copy of it, in a nice display of friendship he offered his services in increasing their funds to the necessary amount. He settled on running what was essentially a scam as he made normal people pay to arm wrestle Gon for a prize. Needless to say he won every time, though he actually struggled with one of the final challengers, a dark haired woman who also appeared to possess _Nen_. If not for her rather innocent presence the two Zoldycks would have been more warry of her, as it was they simply noted it as a curiosity and left it at that. After a few more rounds the group packed up shop for the night, just under 3 million Jenny richer. All things considered it was an impressive haul though the speed wasn't enough, the method itself wasn't sustainable and the profit wasn't much considering the investment of an 8 million Jenny ring.

Apparently however, Leorio planned for the scam to fail as the next day when they tried to set up shop, and failed, they were approached by two members of the underground, what group none of them could tell, but they were giving them an opportunity to potentially earn quite a bit of money. It turned out they, or more specifically Gon, had been offered a place in an underground arm wrestling tournament (strange but if it works and all that). The payout would have been nice and more than worth their initial investment if it hadn't been cancelled right as Gon was set to compete. The… man/creature that showed up to cancel the tournament told them that they would now be playing "hide and seek" with the goal being finding, and capturing, any of the 7 people shown on a flier, one of which the group recognized from last night. The payout for managing to capture even one was 2 billion Jenny, much more than they could have hoped for from the tournament but Harry thought it was too good to be true, it was. Apparently the group had attacked the underground last night and none of the big mafia groups were able to live after going against them, let alone capture them. Killua ended up having to point this out to Leorio and Gon, the former being way to gong ho about the whole situation for their tastes while the later simply going along with the flow. Not even Leorio was cocky enough to believe he could handle the Phantom Troupe of all people after all, so after it was pointed out that was exactly who the group was he settled down rather quickly.

Unfortunately, the money was too important to pass up so they had to try anyways if they wanted to reach their deadline. As none of them believed they would be able to find the Phantom Troupe on their own in a city the size of Yorknew they decided to organize a reporting system with a large monetary reward for any concrete information forwarded to their group. Thankfully Harry still had plenty of money to fund the operation so they didn't have to do anything drastic like put up one of their Hunter Licenses as collateral for a loan. After setting that up they decided to kill time by browsing the back alley stalls again, though Leorio decided against joining them and hunkered down in a cyber café to monitor their reporting system instead. It was good fun for the trio and even turned profitable after Gon discovered a trick to finding quality items by using _Gyo_ , though they only managed to successfully bid on three of the four items they found. In the end the group tried to sell of their items, two of which were worth a combined 420,000 Jenny, supposedly. That later turned out to be a lie just like when they almost got scammed with their last item as the antique shop tried to take advantage of a group of children. It was probably because their last item was a statue that ended up having several gold and jewel encrusted valuables within, and was worth a fortune based on historical value alone. They never would have known if not for the intervention of a kind hearted professional appraiser named Zepel, who was the man who had managed to outbid them on one of the previous items they tried to obtain.

After getting to know the man over some lunch they had paid for in thanks for helping them out they desired to hire him to sell the items they had found. He seemed trustworthy enough after all and it wasn't like they couldn't hunt him down if he betrayed said trust. Unfortunately, they didn't get to hammer out a concrete plan, or even say proper goodbyes as Leorio called them up with a confirmed sighting of two of their targets. It was a good thing they didn't dawdle as tip turned out to be good and soon enough the trio plus Leorio were observing the two reported Phantom Troupe members as they sat at an outdoor café.

Leorio was the one to speak up first, his voice a slightly nervous sounding whisper. "Now then… how are we going to capture them."

""It's impossible. We aren't strong enough to handle them.""

"… you know I really hate it when you two do that, it's creepy… And what do you mean it's impossible!? And why are you only saying this now!?" Harry was almost positive Leorio was an Emitter at this point, which wasn't a good thing as he quickly tried to shut the older teen up.

"Quiet! They'll notice us." Despite his loud voice Harry's words barely carried more than a few feet thanks to some sound casting techniques he had been taught. Thankfully Leorio actually listened to him for once and soon quieted down enough for Killua to explain things to him.

"it's simple, we noticed as soon as we saw them. Our dad once had a hit on a Troupe member and it was one of the few times we've ever heard him complain. Said the job wasn't worth the price. That's considered the greatest compliment a target can get. And he even followed it up by telling us to stay away from the Troupe. We thought we might stand a chance since it's been a few years and we know _Nen_ but…" Killua tapered off at that point, his silence being just as telling as any words he could say.

"They're really that strong?"

"Picture two Hisokas are sitting there."

"And that both of those Hisokas won't spare your life simply because they thought you were amusing."

Gon and Leorio, who were already paling at the Killua's description, started to sweat lightly at Harry's addition to their imagined scenario. It was not pretty. Gon, while less effected than Leorio, remained silent and let the older teen spoke their thoughts on the matter.

"That…That is definitely not something we can handle."

Killua gave Leorio a deadpan look before responding. "Yeah… So, with that said, why do you think they here?"

"Aren't they on a date?"

Now it was Harry's turn to deadpan at Leorio "…Are you stupid or something?"

"What was that you shitty brat!?"

"What is your hearing fading in your advanced age old man?"

"What did you say!? I'm a teenager! A teenager damn it!"

"Both of you shut up! Do you want to draw their attention?"

The two bickering friends settled down at that, feeling suitably admonished by the reminder. Killua just gave a sigh before continuing to explain his observations.

"No they aren't on a date Leorio. They noticed that other couple behind them, they're paying close attention to their surroundings. At first I thought it was just caution because the Mafia is after them but in that case they wouldn't be sitting out in the open. They aren't worried at all… They're waiting for someone to find them, acting as bait to draw out their prey."

The group descended into silence after that, Leorio and Gon thinking over Killua's words while the two Zoldycks continued to monitor their targets as best they could using the reflections in the window. There was a brief moment of panic from Gon and Leorio after the atmosphere got noticeably tenser due to a standoff between the Troupe members as the two more inexperienced males thought they had gotten noticed. Harry and Killua managed to calm them down and soon enough the feeling faded, letting the group continue their observation in, relative, peace. When the two spiders finally left the café it was up to Harry, Gon and Killua to continue tailing them using _Zetsu_ , Leorio not having learned the technique yet.

Initially the two trained assassins had been worried about Gon's ability to tail a target unnoticed but were pleasantly surprised, after being utterly dumbfounded, when Gon admitted to having tailed Hisoka for a full day during the Hunter's Exam. With their worries assuaged the trio took off, taking to the roof tops for better hiding and maneuverability. Following the Troupe members was rather stressful despite that, though Killua ended up being the most burdened as he was one with the most skill and experience in the practice than both Gon and Harry, thus taking the hardest job, monitoring for signs of being spotted. The trio ended up following the spiders for the better part of 20 minutes as they slowly moved to a more isolated area in the city. It was obvious to the two assassins that the pair likely knew they were being tailed at this point, though not where any of them were exactly. Neither could tell if they were being led into trap or if the two were heading back to base to meet up with allies but in the end they decided to risk it and keep following them, the potential payoff of finding their base being too good to pass up. That turned out to be a mistake.

While the three had been focused entirely on their targets they had been snuck up on by other members of the Troupe from inside the buildings they had been hiding in. Harry tried to escape by going through the Troupe member but was rather easily thwarted despite taking full advantage of his physical abilities. He still managed to break out of his opponent's hold when he got caught thanks to some rather reckless maneuvers, but unfortunately that ended up not mattering when the pink haired Troupe member, one of the pair they had been tailing, appeared behind him, blocking off all escape routes. He could have escaped using his teleportation ability but Harry doubted Killua or Gon would have had any better luck escaping, so he kept that in reserve for when they were all together. It was lucky they were kept alive despite trying to hunt them down, though he was quick to figure out why when he was forced to answer some questions on how and why they were tailing them, and if he knew a _Nen_ chain user, which he didn't. Apparently the trap had been for the chain user and not "random" joes like them, which was unfortunate. After answering their questions Harry was quickly herded into a waiting car, where he met back up with Gon and Killua, the latter of whom he gave a signal indicating his intent, which he knew he would understand even if he gave no indication of seeing it.

They ended up being driven to the Phantom Troupe's base at that point and saw the whole gang, including a familiar face in Hisoka and the girl Gon beat in arm wrestling. That last tidbit seemed to interest the male Troupe member they had initially been tailing as he decided to challenge Gon to an arm wrestling competition. It was rather painful to watch as the man did not hold back at all and left Gon's hand raw and bloody with his constant challenges. Harry was set to get them all out at this point and damn the consequences but Killua signaled him to hold off for now, despite being just as visibly upset at Gon's treatment as he was.

It turned out to be a good idea as they ended up getting some interesting information, including a possible lead on who the chain user was and the fact that one of the Troupe wad dead, before Gon decided to act like himself, stubborn and incredibly childish. Normally Harry would have been amused by Gon's antics, as it was Harry was in full flight mode when Gon called out his arm wrestling opponent and proceeded to beat him at the game before setting off on the rest of the Troupe. Things got… tense at that point as all three were quickly restrained and Gon was faced the threat of torture for his actions. Luckily Gon's opponent, whose name turned out to be Nobunaga, stopped Feitan, the one threatening torture, and, after a coin toss, the three were released from their holds and a brief debate on whether they'd be allowed to leave or not occurred.

For the single most notorious criminal gang in the world the spiders were rather kind hearted towards children, bar a few exceptions, as the majority eventually decided to let them go. It wasn't to be though as when Nobunaga tried to recruit Gon into the gang for some reason and was flat out refused, they were detained once again. None of the other members wanted to bother with watching them however so they all ended up in a room together, their only guard being Nobunaga himself as he was the reason they were there. It was here that Harry decided to finally make his move.

He had wanted to wait a few minutes before escaping and tried to let Killua know of his plans but for some reason his brother seemed to be in the middle of a panic attack. Harry wasn't sure what was going on but when his brother finally snapped out of it he looked his switched was flipped as he was preparing to try and kill Nobunaga. Harry was all set to slap some sense in his dumb ass when Killua managed to snap out of whatever funk he was in himself before he managed to get himself cut in half by their jailer. Killua did end up venting his frustration on a poor helpless wall however, whatever had bothered him still evidently there. Harry gave him a few moments to collect himself before gaining his attention. Killua almost seemed grudging in his acceptance of using Harry's power to escape, as if he wanted to try and fight his way out rather than take the smart way. Luckily his logic prevailed and, after grabbing both his and Gon's hands, Harry teleported them all out of the building, the last thing any of them saw was the stunned look on Nobunaga's face before their surroundings were replaced by a dirt road and empty buildings. Harry made sure to teleport a few more times in succession before they were over 2 kilometers away from the base, he doubted even _Nen_ could sense them this far out.

Gon was rather amazed by Harry's ability to teleport and he was forced to answer multiple rapid fire questions as they ran back into town. Killua's mood seemed to recover at seeing their interaction and pretty soon they had put their brief captivity by the Troupe mostly behind them. Thanks to Harry's efforts they weren't followed so they made it back without running into any trouble bar a brief delay on the metro that caused them to get on out and walk the rest of the way towards their hotel. Despite their misadventure none of them wanted to give up on capturing the Troupe just like that however, so they decided to give Kurapika a call. Needless to say he was not happy at all to learn they had targeted the spiders and had even gotten captured. They tried to get him to join their efforts in capturing them but they were instantly told to back off and their blonde friend tried to cut off the conversation at that point. Killua and Gon had to use a combination of blackmail and guilt tripping to simply get him to meet up with them the next day rather than simply cut off contact completely. The trio returned to their hotel room after that and, after dealing with a drunk Leorio and Zeple (who came from out of nowhere), they all turned in for the night.

The next morning the three decided to go out and have some fun, their moods having turned a bit bad after learning of the death of the majority of the Phantom Troupe, and thus the loss of a good source of money. They still planned to meet with Kurapika but now it was more about learning whatever _Nen_ secret that had allowed him to take down one of the spiders despite just learning _Nen_ a few months ago. Kurapika was pretty forthcoming with his information and didn't leave anything out, including his own _Nen_ ability.

The concept of Limitations and Vows was interesting but it wasn't very enticing to the three younger boys, even if the power it could give them could be useful. Killua ended up freaking out when Kurapika told them the exact conditions of his contract, not that he blamed him when one of the surviving Troupe members could read minds. Kurapika didn't seem to bothered by it however as he was confident in his ability to take them out if it came to it, even if they knew his abilities. Not that he was planning on going after them anymore surprisingly enough, instead opting to focus on getting back his clan members' eyes. Or he was until Hisoka sent him a message that the bodies were fake and that the Troupe were still very much alive. Gon still wanted to help him capture the Troupe but Killua and Harry were against the idea due to the reward being rescinded. They still needed to gather money for the auction if they wanted to get a copy of Greed Island, which was there entire reason for being in the city anyways. Gon managed to convince them to change their minds after telling him he had a plan to get a copy of Greed Island, though he refused to specify what exactly that was.

Harry was fairly certain that Killua still harbored hope that they wouldn't go after the Troupe when he made it clear that they wouldn't without Kurapika's aid, even though Harry knew it was a pipe dream to believe he wouldn't at this point. Harry was proven correct when Gon was able to get him agree to let them help without much difficulty, much to Killua's quiet displeasure. After being accepted into Kurapika's ranks, with some clear cut rules of engagement, they quickly got down to forming a plan. It was pretty basic but when you were dealing with 11 _Nen_ masters and hardened criminals a complex plan would likely just fall to pieces anyways.

Killua was designated the lookout for the Troupe's hideout, Leorio was to be Kurapika's driver while Harry and Gon were to work in tandem and act as decoys. Their target this time was Pakunoda, the woman who could read minds, since she was the biggest threat to Kurapika at the moment due to her ability. After that was set Kurapika ended up giving an even more in depth explanation on the full range of his abilities, after Gon managed to find out he had one of his own _Nen_ constructs pierced into his heart that is. His Judgement Chain was a rather scary ability, though incredibly useful because of it.

The final confrontation ended up taking place at Hotel Beitacle, the hotel Kurapika and the girl he was guarding were staying at, which set all kinds of bad alarms ringing in the group's heads. Harry, Gon and Killua ended up having to get captured again in order to save Kurapika when they had chased after 6 members of the Troupe. The pink haired Troupe member made sure to guard them quite closely this time, evidently hearing about their previous method of escape from Nobunaga. Thankfully Leorio and Kurapika were able to come up with a plan on the fly and even convey it to them while they were surrounded by Troupe members so they didn't remain captive for long. Kurapika ended up having the power to the hotel cut and under the surprise and darkness Harry was able to get them all out after freeing Gon from the threads that bound him, even taking Pakunoda with them. Killua, who hadn't needed helping freeing himself, had managed to cripple Pakunoda (who was trying to read his and Gon's memories at the time) before the surprise wore off so she was easily subdued.

What was even better was that Kurapika had managed to capture the Troupe's leader under cover of the darkness before he met up with them. With the biggest threats out of the way the group didn't linger in the hotel, instead making their way to airstrip near the city limits for the next part of their plan. Tensions ran high during their trip as Kurapika tried to get answers from the Troupe members, which ended up not working very well at all. Chrollo Lucifer, the Phantom's leader, was a very unnerving person and Harry didn't blame Kurapika from nearly killing him when he failed to answer. Pakunoda on the other hand didn't even speak once during the trip, despite the threats leveled at her. The three youngest boys had to intervene a few times to keep Kurapika from straight out murdering her before they could learn anything. Though it took Leorio to finally settle him down when Chrollo tried to goad Kurapika into killing the both of them. Despite the little hiccup that was the trio's capture their plan actually worked out better than expected. While they hadn't planned on capturing Chrollo it actually worked out better than if they had only captured Pakunoda as they were able to use the loyalty of some of the Troupe to lure another spider to their location, said spider being Nobunaga surprisingly enough.

Unfortunately, at that point nothing else really went their way. Hisoka had managed to track them down by following his former companion. The mad magician managing to take Gon hostage before anyone of them could react and forced Kurapika to release Chrollo so he could have a fight to the death with the spider's head. Even more bad news came when Nobunaga took the opportunity to free Pakunoda before Kurapika managed to chase them off. Thankfully by this point Kurapika had already placed restrictions on both Chrollo and Pakunoda so that neither could use _Nen_ or have contact with the other Troupe members without dying, though Hisoka didn't know that. Of course contact was a bit of a loose term so neither Chrollo nor Pakunoda dropped dead thanks to their rescue but it was better than nothing. Fortunately, they were far away from the jester by the time he figured out that the restrictions meant he couldn't have his dream fight thanks to hijacking an airship. As a result, they avoided any unpleasantness said revelation could/would have caused, which was a good thing as Kurapika collapsed not long after they got into the air. They didn't know what had caused that to happen, though Harry thought it due to the strain of using his abilities and the ended up having to take him back into Yorknew to recover lest he die. Unbeknownst to them however, as they were appropriating an abandoned building Pakunoda made the final sacrifice in order to warn her fellow spiders of Kurapika and his powers.

 **AN: A very long chapter, coming in at 26,459 words counting the author's notes. I hope you enjoyed it. The Yorknew Arc ended up being much shorter than the others due to the arc mainly focusing on Kurapika and the Troupe itself, whereas again this fic is mostly Harry centric.**

 **For those who want to know my reason for Harry's status as a Specialist with an apparent affinity with all categories is because of his status as a Wizard. If you think about it magicals have abilities that fall under all categories of** _ **Nen**_ **. Enhancement – runes, rituals, potions and durability charms. Transmutation – elemental spells and transfiguration. Emitter – curses, jinxes and the like. Conjurer – there's an entire branch of magic called Conjuration. Manipulation – transfiguration again plus the Imperious curse. I had been briefly tempted to make his Specialization have something to do with blood as a tie in with his mother's sacrifice but I ended up deciding on this route instead, sorry for those who would have wanted to see that instead. Anyways I've rambled enough. If you have comments let me know, otherwise see you next chapter which will be Greed Island in its entirety.**

 **-Monumentum**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm not dead and the story isn't either. I was just incapacitated by some real world issues. I'm ok but I wasn't able to finish proofing and upload this chapter until now sorry about that. Good news however in that the next chapter is about half way through proofing so I hope to get it out soon. For all of you who have liked and followed both my story and me I thank you. For those of you who review I also thank you. Now enough of my ramblings. Enjoy the chapter.**

Finding a place to hunker down and let Kurapika recover was fairly simple for the group, though ditching the airship they had been using wasn't so much. Thankfully none of the spiders, nor Hisoka, decided to hunt them down so they had managed to do so without running into trouble. None of them really understood why that was but they weren't about to look a gift horse in the mouth, not when Kurapika, the only one among them capable of fighting a spider, was running a 103-degree fever at any rate. Leorio offered to look after Kurapika himself so the three young friends could finally deal with the real reason they had come to the city, that and because he _was_ a doctor in training after all.

Unfortunately for the them however, they didn't have enough money to buy a copy of Greed Island at the auction despite getting quite a bit of money from Zepel's efforts, so they had to rely on Gon's plan to succeed. Fortunately, Gon's plan was actually a good one and had a fairly high chance of success so when it was time for the auction the next day the trio arrived at the venue bursting with anticipation… only to run into members of the Phantom Troupe, specifically the tall blond one named Phinks and the one who wanted to torture Gon, Feitan.

"Yo. Fancy meeting you here." Feitan's low, menacing voice sent shivers down Harry's spine despite his attempt at emulating a pleasant tone of voice.

"We were just leaving." Harry tried to back away but Phinks disappeared in a burst of speed and reappeared behind him, his hand firmly clamped down on his shoulder.

"There's no reason for that now is there? You wouldn't want to miss the auction after all, right?" Harry barely kept himself from trying to stab Phinks in the kidney for the implied threat in his words. Killua and Gon looked no better but they were being kept occupied by Feitan instead.

"Yeah, it's such an interesting event, it would be a shame to leave just like that, why don't you come join us." Feitan's "suggestion" would have been much less menacing sounding if he hadn't laughed darkly after making it. Harry had to bite back a sarcastic comment lest he piss off their captors, although captors was probably pushing it considering he could likely escape again like he did the other times and they knew it. After looking briefly at Killua and Gon, noting the same understanding in their eyes, Harry decided to accept the offer.

"Fine…"

Once Harry voiced their acceptance he was released from Phink's grip, though he was kept slightly separate from Killua and Gon, likely as a precaution against his ability to teleport. Once they were settled in Harry was the first to break the tense silence.

"So? What do you want from us?"

"Nothing." Phink replied.

"Nothing?" Harry deadpanned, not believing them for a second.

"Yeah nothing. Well nothing from you kids as a whole. You on the other hand are a different story."

"…Let me guess, you either want to offer me a place on the spiders or have a job offer for me due to my ability."

Phink smirked. "Got it in one kid. So you interested?"

Harry hesitated briefly with his response, giving Gon enough time to reply "for" him.

"There's no way he would be interested so you should just leave!"

Feitan raised an eyebrow in response to Gon's loud declaration, dark amusement evident in his eyes.

"Hoh? But the brat didn't answer himself how can you be sure?"

This time it was Killua who spoke up for Harry.

"Because you have nothing to offer that would appeal to Harry."

Feitan gave a non-committal noise in response, turning to look at Harry himself to see the truth of the matter, much like Phink who never looked away from him. Gon and Killua also finally noticed that Harry had yet to reply and turned their own gazes towards their friend/brother. It was clear that the two were expecting him to agree with them and were wondering why he hadn't yet but the truth was he didn't agree, not really. He didn't like the troupe at all, nor did he think he could ever work with or for them long term, but there was one thing they could offer him that would be useful.

"…I won't join the Troupe… but I will at least hear what job you want me to do."

The two spiders smirked at his response while Gon and Killua looked absolutely flabbergasted, and more than a little pissed judging by Killua's subsequent outburst.

"Harry what the hell are you thinking!? You can't be seriously considering working for them!?"

Killua looked set to continue his tirade but was stopped by a firm hand clamping down on his shoulder from Phink, who was subtly indicating to keep quiet as his outburst had attracted attention from the nearby people. After a couple minutes the interest in their group died down and Harry finally spoke his thoughts.

"I am serious Killua. I won't accept anything before I learn what the job is but I doubt it will be anything worse than what we've done for the family. The spiders are thieves by profession not murders, despite their body count. Besides, they have one thing I'm sure they could offer us."

Gon and Killua's angry glares lessened slightly at that, replaced with a sort of annoyed thoughtfulness that would be rather humorous to see if not for the situation.

"What could they offer you that we would want?" Was the question Killua posited.

"A copy of Greed Island."

At Harry's reply his two companions looked stunned while the two troupe members merely looked intrigued/amused by the group's dialogue and Harry's answer.

"It's simple if you think about it. The troupe was initially hunted by the various mafia groups because they robbed the auction house right?" At Harry's leading question Gon and Killua nodded. "We all know that the mafia failed to actually kill them all right?" Again nods were given in response. "Yet the auction is still going which means…?" Gon looked confused but Killua, after a brief moment of thought, spoke out in surprise.

"That the troupe are the ones running the auction, which means they hold all the copies of the game."

"Pin pon." Feitan's rather sarcastic correct answer noise caused twitches to appear on the two Zoldyck's eyebrows.

"That's some pretty good reasoning there kid, and you're right we could give you a copy of the game though a single job wouldn't cover that cost." Phink's rather more helpful explanation was appreciated though it wasn't quite what Harry wanted to hear.

"I see, well as long as I don't find the jobs you want me to take too unpalatable then that won't be a problem. Of course that's only if Gon's plan doesn't work so don't worry about it guys. That being said can we go now or are you going to try and capture us…again?"

The two spider's smirked at Harry's spunk. "Heh, you're free to go kid. If you do want to take us up on that offer at some point give a call to this number." With a nod at Phink's words the three youths stood up and prepared to leave but before they could Phink stopped them to give one last parting remark. "Oh, and tell your friend Kurapika that next time he comes after the spiders that we'll kill him. His fancy chains won't be able to help him again."

The trio shuddered at those words, the implication that the troupe now knew of Kurapika's name and abilities resting heavy on their shoulders. That meant that Pakunoda somehow informed them of what she pulled from Gon and Killua's memories. It also meant that she was dead, something that seemed to bother Gon but neither of the two Zoldycks. Still that piece of information was something they'd definitely need to share with Kurapika when he woke up, it was nothing but bad news despite the apparent lack of desire to hunt him or any of them down. Harry just thanked the Gods that, that was the case. The ability to teleport or not he had no desire to have a group of murderous _Nen_ masters actively gunning for their heads. A sentiment that Killua at the least seemed to agree on if the shudder that ran down his spine was any indication.

They returned to their actual seats at that point and settled in to watch the rest of the auction waiting for the copies of Greed Island to finally show. Gon started dosing off not 5 minutes in but Harry thought it was interesting enough despite not being able to afford to bid on anything. When it was time for the copies of Greed Island to finally be auctioned off Harry and Killua got a shock at seeing Milluki in the seats, it was the first time either of them saw him leave home and it was actually a little unsettling if they were honest.

As the auction for the first copy went on Gon ended up accidently making a bid of 24 billion for a copy, though thankfully someone else was quick to put a higher bid so they didn't have to worry about paying any false bid fees. Killua was quick to take their friend to task for that little stunt, leaving Harry to simply enjoy the show as it were. The auction continued on for another couple of hours before ending, another two copies of Greed Island being sold during that period but beyond that nothing else of note happened.

After the auction the trio decided to put Gon's plan into motion and approached the winner of the first copy's (as well as the other two's) bid and offer their services as Hunters to clear the game. The man's guards were skeptical of their claims but after Harry and Gon flashed their Licenses they were able to speak to their boss. He didn't end up hiring them right away but they were offered a chance to get hired if they impressed the man's chief Hunter through going passing a certain test. The test was simple, they simply had to show him their _Ren_ , or so they thought. Despite flaring their _Ren_ to the maximum the man, who was called Tsezguerra, was quick to call them hopeless… needless to say they weren't hired once he did. At least they managed to get an invitation to the player screening so they had another chance to get accepted, even if Tsezguerra didn't seem optimistic about their chances.

When they got back to the building they were essentially squatting in Gon spent a lot of time working out his anger from their conversation with both the spiders and Tsezguerra. It was a nice change of pace to see Gon act like Killua usually did in those kinds of situations, at least for Harry, though it wasn't as nice when Gon started up a tirade on _him_. Luckily Gon was a…simple person and was quick to forgive and forget, especially since it was quite possible they would have to rely on the spider's help for a copy if they failed to pass the test. Gon wasn't done letting off steam once he was through with Harry though so while he was dealing with his anger problem Harry and Killua were thinking about what the pro Hunter had meant by them being helpless. It eventually hit both of them at the same time about what he actually wanted to see. _Hatsu_. None of them actually had their own special _Nen_ abilities as Harry didn't count his Specialist Trait or his unpracticed copied techniques and _Ren_ was actually just a basic principle/technique of _Nen_.

The two Zoldycks were quick to calm down Gon and inform him of their reasoning once they figured that out and all three promptly went into closed door training for the next four days, as that was when the screening was to take place. Harry wasn't sure how it was for the other two but he struggled with finding his own personal _Hatsu_ for quite a while, though he expected Gon had just as much trouble judging by the frustrated shouting he could hear through the paper thin walls. In the end he finally hit upon an idea when he was reading one of the manga he had brought with him for when he got bored.

The manga was called Bleach and the part of the story he was reading had a fight between one of the Espada, the Primera, and two Captains. The Espada's release was really cool in his opinion, the coolest aside from Ulquiorra's, as it enabled him to form wolves out of his energy that could chase down his opponents and exploded on contact. So Harry, in a burst of pure childish whim, decided that that would be his _Hatsu_ , besides something about wolves just called out to him.

Thankfully he already had knowledge on how to make constructs out of _Nen_ from the information he had gleamed from Kastro's ability so all he had to do was mold the shape into that of a wolf, and figure out how to control it, and to make more than one… and make it explode. It was actually rather complicated but Harry was determined to make the technique anyways, at least things related to _Nen_ came easy to him even without his Specialist Trait so he was optimistic about having something to show in four days. Harry didn't leave his room once after getting to work on his technique, bar the rare bathroom break. He even gave up on sleeping and ate his meals in his room while he trained, when he remembered to eat that is. Gon and Killua were much the same so no one was bothered by his actions, which he was thankful for.

When the day finally came for the screening Harry thought that he was ready. He didn't think his technique was mastered, or even complete. Not by a long shot in fact. But he firmly believed that it was enough to show he wasn't "hopeless" and that he had the qualifications to be hired as a Greed Island player.

The venue for the screening, when they got there midafternoon, was utterly packed by applicants and Harry was honestly surprised by how many people actually possessed the ability to use _Nen_. Sure it was a requirement to be a Pro-Hunter but there were only slightly more than 1,000 of those in the world and he doubted that a full 1/5 of that number were applying for the same job. Harry pushed those thoughts to the side as even right from the beginning the test had started. According to the analysis of a nearby Hunter, and his own thoughts on the matter, even the order in which they went up to show their " _Ren"_ was part of the test. It was a rather clever way to probe the applicant's mindset Harry thought. Those who went first or patiently waited in their seats had the proper mindset while those that waited on the sidelines or simply followed the first few applicant's leads did not. When the trio decided it was time to go up and get tested Harry was the one who went first between the three and he was eager to show Tsezguerra just how "hopeless" he really was.

"Hoooh? It's you eh kid? Well, show me your _Ren._ " Tsezguerra managed to look both bored and condescending as he drawled out his command.

Harry suppressed his desire to kick the man in the balls as he calmly replied. "Mind if I use _Hatsu_?"

"That's fine. You're free to show me anything that represents your power. Prove that the _Ren_ I saw previously wasn't your true strength." Tsezguerra looked vaguely interested now, the bored look on his face gone, though the condescension remained.

Harry just gave a cocky smirk in response and, with a snap of his fingers that was more for dramatic effect than anything else, called up the power he had been working on for four days and nights straight.

" **Los Lobos!** "

As if they had been there all along four wolves, the size of small - medium dogs and made entirely out of green colored aura, appeared around Harry in a protective circle. The "fur" of the wolves seemed to whip around as if from an invisible breeze while their crimson red eyes bored into those of Tsezguerra. Two of them even unleashed low warning growls at the man, something Harry had practiced for 5 straight hours to get just right. It seemed to have been worth it as the man was clearly impressed, though whether that was with the ability itself or his feat of developing it in a mere four days he couldn't tell.

"You pass. I'm impressed kid, hope to see you do well in the game."

"Ah, thank you." Harry was inwardly heaving a sigh of relief that his display was enough to get him accepted, even as he responded with a smirk and a cocky drawl.

He still could only summon four wolves at a time and both his range and ability to control each of them was rather poor, making them look more like they were having epileptic fits rather than moving like a normal wolf. They also weren't the same size as actual wolves which bothered him more than a little. At least their explosive power was ok, but even then it was only enough to break wood, which was far from what he wanted. Still he had plenty of time to develop it further so he wasn't bothered by it, it had only taken him four days to get this far after all, who knows where he'll be a couple of months from now.

Stepping into the next room he saw that only 7 other applicants had passed so far. Harry wasn't very interested in making friends with them so he simply picked a seat and waited for Gon and Killua to pass, believing that was an inevitability rather than a possibility. His faith wasn't misplaced as not much later Killua and then Gon arrived in the room with happy (or smug in Killua's case) grins on their faces. Harry wasn't sure what Killua's _Hatsu_ was but Gon's was likely some sort of aura infused punch or kick judging by the way the room shook during his test, though knowing Gon it could also be a head-butt. His head was certainly hard enough to make that extra lethal with aura added to it. The test ended roughly 30 minutes later with only another 7 people managing to pass and, after receiving their contract and a brief rundown on their goals, they left the building and met up with Leorio to celebrate. Well that and so that he could look over the contract for them as well. When it came to money there was no one better to comb through a binding legal agreement after all.

Leorio, after a thorough read through, thought the contract was on the up and up so they all ended up signing it, though Killua pointed out the interesting tidbit about how items could be brought out of the game. It was an interesting side note that raised questions about just what Greed Island actually was but none of them decided to pursue the matter further at that point.

After eating their lunch, they spent a bit more time with Leorio before saying their goodbyes and boarding a train to their new employer's mansion. Once there Tsezguerra collected their contracts before giving another, more in depth, rundown on Greed Island and what they had been hired to do. Eventually it was time to finally enter that game and, after a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide the order, Gon ended up being first, Harry 5th and Killua 17th. Since there was a several minute-long interval between each new player entering the game Gon and Harry would be faced with a bit of a wait but neither minded too much. It was interesting watching the process of Gon disappearing in a flash of light after plugging in his controller but it got dull rather quickly as the monitor showed nothing about the process itself.

When it was finally Harry's turn to enter the game and received the tutorial he was almost instantly hit by a migraine as his Specialist Trait struggled (and failed) to understand the room he ended up in. As a result, he only half payed attention to what was said and all but ran out into the game world as soon as he possibly could. Thankfully his ability cut off as soon as he got outside and didn't start up again, which hinted at some interesting things as to the nature of the game though Harry was in too much pain to think about it at the moment. Gon was quick to rush to his aide but there was nothing he could do so, after calming down when Harry informed him it was just a headache, he settled for simply keeping him company, though thankfully he kept quiet as he did so.

When Harry's headache left him half an hour later Killua had still yet to show up so he spent the time playing with his Book, which thankfully did not give him a headache to look at, alongside Gon. Harry was glad that another headache didn't pop up again, though that was probably because his Trait didn't active at all rather than because the Book wasn't as complicated. Maybe it didn't activate because it related to the symbols on the ring? That would be rather interesting if it was the case as it could mean he needed to see a _Nen_ ability from a living person or something like that to understand it. Such a condition would fit with how he learned part of how Hisoka's Bungee Gum worked from watching his fight against Gon and not from the recording of his fight with Kastro.

Unfortunately playing with their Book's got boring rather quickly and both Harry and Gon were left feeling bored for another hour before Killua showed up. Finally reunited the trio wasted no time deciding on the direction they wanted to go, eager to start playing the game and finding clues about Gin. The direction they chose was one those that they felt themselves being watched from as well as the one most of the other new players went towards.

As they walked Gon told them about Ging's message, having not told Harry as he wanted to wait until they were all together. It was interesting if lacking in any information and Killua was left disappointed that the Book he left Gon had nothing in it. They had just moved on to discussing the game's rules when they were interrupted by a man flying down before them from the sky. It was interesting to note that Harry's trait didn't activate despite the ability clearly being related to _Nen_ , meaning that whatever it was it was likely not done by the man's own power if his hypothesis was correct.

Their interactions with the man ended up being less than pleasant as he somehow knew all three of their names, though he refused to answer how he knew them exactly, which put them all on edge. He then did something stupid, or rather even more stupid than taunting them with information he shouldn't have, he launched an attack/spell at Killua. It did no damage but still, Killua was not pleased to say the least, not at all, and as a result his switch was flipped.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your perspective, the man's survival instincts were rather good and he didn't even hesitate to activate another card and fly away, leaving behind the tangy scent of sweat and fear. After that incident the three were a bit more on guard as they continued their journey, not wanting a repeat of the earlier incident until they knew exactly what had happened. Pretty soon they ended up arriving in a town called Antokiba, also known as the City of Prizes according to its tagline. It was a lively town that served to improve the trio's mood and the three quickly decided to participate in one of the competitions being held, after getting lunch of course. The good thing about Antokiba being the City of Prizes was that there were challenges and competitions everywhere for everything. This meant finding a restaurant where they didn't have to pay for food was rather easy, all that was required to eat an extremely large plate of spaghetti each without leaving any leftovers.

Throughout their meal they tried to fish for information from the anthropomorphic cat chef who served their food but were met with limited success. Killua thought he acted a lot like an NPC, and Harry and Gon agreed once he explained what that meant. At least he was able to offer an explanation on the card system so they didn't completely fail at gathering information. It served to explain what that man had done to Killua at least, though not the exact effect. Pre-loaded _Nen_ abilities were an interesting concept and Harry was feeling a bit annoyed that his Trait appeared useless in figuring out how they and the abilities/items they contained worked.

Just as they were preparing to ask more questions they heard, and felt, a large explosion occur nearby. Being both curious and concerned in Gon's case all three ran in the direction of the blast where upon arriving at which, they found one of their fellow new players dead on the ground. According to the pedestrians nearby the man just exploded from the inside out, which caused all of them to be put on edge remembering the attack that hit Killua and fearing the worse. A random player was quick to debase them of the notion that a spell had caused it, instead telling them it was a personal _Nen_ ability, likely from a player hunter. He tried to get them to join him for a meeting but none of them were willing to trust his intentions, though they ended up going along to hear him out anyways after he offered to explain the spell put on Killua and why he was targeted. That and he offered to explain some more details on the game that they would need if they didn't want to be constantly preyed upon by veterans.

There were several important pieces of information that they learned at the meeting, which they also noticed had 3 more of their fellow new players in attendance. One of them was the existence of the Bomber, the man who had apparently killed the guy just a few minutes prior. Another was the number of spell cards that existed and what the one used on Killua did. It was worrying ability, being able to track him and all, but ultimately manageable so they put it out of their minds for the time being. Then there was the information on how to get item cards and, most importantly, the clear conditions for the game. Their guide ended the meeting with an offer to join their faction, though none of the trio opted to accept despite how helpful they had been and the offer the remove the spell from Killua. Well it was really Gon who decided but neither Harry nor Killua were going to argue against the decision as they didn't really care. Though Harry had to correct Gon when he misinterpreted their reason for playing the game, he thought they were doing it to win when in fact they were only here because he was their friend. Killua sent him a look of gratitude for correcting him, not having liked Gon believing that they were simply interested in personal gain over him. After that little episode the three decided to simply enjoy Greed Island and have fun, their first step was competing in the contest they first saw when they entered town.

They ended up winning the contest fairly easily though they ended up getting attacked by several desperate people who attempted to gain possession of their prize, The Sword of Truth, as a result. The first was a rather sad man who was laughably easy to deal with. Gon simply stole his spell card before he could use it, making him admit defeat from the shock/shame. Unfortunately, the next group of players weren't pathetic and they ended up losing their one card, much to Gon's frustration. Harry and Killua were more philosophical about the whole thing and weren't too bothered, knowing it would be simple enough to win that competition again if they wanted another one.

The three decided to move on from the town after that, once Gon vented his frustration at any rate. Their chosen destination was the city of Masadora, where they could purchase spells cards such as the one needed to remove the tracker from Killua. They made sure to buy a map before they left, though at Gon's insistence it was blank as he thought it would be more fun to fill it in on their own. Interestingly enough the items at the shop cost Jenny, actual Jenny from the real world, which Harry thought was strange but not worth bringing up at the moment. The clue clues were piling up though and he was starting to form a suspicion about the true nature of Greed Island now however.

After asking for directions to Masadora, because their blank map was literally just an outline of the island and nothing else, they found that the town was 80 kilometers away, about a full day of running for the trio in other words. They also learned that there were bandits and monsters along the path, which got all of them excited as it was like a standard intro for every great adventure. The trio were all pumped up to leave but were stopped from doing so by the appearance of a young blond girl around their age that Harry recognized as being a fellow new player and from their earlier meeting. She said she wanted to join them but Killua was quick to shoot her down for looking like a burden, which was a shame as Harry thought she was rather cute. He also thought it was stupid since they were kids as well and she had to be at least as capable as them if she passed Tsezguerra's test. He didn't say anything however, as it ultimately didn't matter, so the three quickly and calmly walked away as the girl appeared to be in shock and incapable of speech by the rude dismissal. Harry did offer an apologetic look as they walked away however, though he wasn't sure if she noticed or not. Though he did know that once she recovered she followed after them anyways, which was both impressive and annoying seeing as she was able to keep up with them despite how fast they ran, proving Harry's earlier thoughts correct about her capabilities.

They did end up running into bandits at one point on their trip so Killua had something to vent his annoyance on. Or at least they thought they did. Turns out they were just very sick ninjas asking for help in as shameless a manner as possible. It seemed to Harry like they were running a scam, but Killua thought it was a scripted event for a quest so they went along with it. In the end they gave the "bandits" the 80,000 Jenny they requested on the off chance that Killua was correct. It wasn't very much money after all compared to the group's total wealth, though it was about half of their remaining cash. Their stalker tried to make herself seem useful by offering to give the money, but Killua was once again quick put her down rather rudely.

After receiving their generosity, the bandits had _another_ request however, which was literally for the clothes off their backs. Harry was about 99% sure the whole thing was a scam at that point was set to kill them all when Gon beat him to the punch by readily offered their clothes to the bandits. Harry flat out refused. He liked his clothes and didn't want to be left wearing only his boxers and a wife beater thank you very much. Of course his two "friends" decided to force the issue and stripped Harry's clothes despite his violent protests. He ended up being immensely smug when he was proven correct about the whole thing being a scam when they ended up empty handed and "politely" asked to leave. At the least the monsters, once they reached them, were less of a disappointment/annoyance, serving as an excellent distraction from their anger.

The area they arrived in after leaving the "bandit" forest was a rocky one, with a large number of elevated stone mounds interspersed with wide but shallow ravines full of monsters. The first kind of monsters they ran into was a large number of giant cyclopes creatures which lived up the hype all three kids had initially felt upong leaving the City of Prizes. Gon was the first to leap into battle but his aura infused punch did no damage despite landing cleaning on one of the creature's face. Harry and Killua stayed back and simply observed the fight as Gon continued his attack, noticing how none of his blows appeared to deal damage, before they were interrupted by their monster attacks of their own. Harry and Killua seemed to have come to the same conclusion about the creatures at that point as they landed near simultaneous blows to their respective cyclops's eyes in retaliation, instantly defeating them and turning them into cards. They made sure to inform Gon of the weakness, after which the trio decimated the remained 12 monsters within a couple of minutes. It was a good warm up and all three were eager to search for new opponents to fight as a result.

They tried to moved deeper into the rocky area after that but before they got more than 20 meters in they encountered a massive 4 legged and 2 armed salamander/lizard creature. The thing was nearly as tall as the nearby hills and about twice as long. Needless to say the trio ran for their lives before it could swallow them whole. They ended up successfully escaping by activating _Zetsu_ and hiding behind one of the many hills, though that didn't last long. Right as they breathed a sigh of relief and calmed their erratic heartbeats they were set upon by another monster, this time in the form of a cute but extremely fast black furry ball. Its attacks did no damage but it was too fast for any of them to catch so it eventually managed to get away from them, leaving the trio tired and frustrated.

After that they decided to just continue on their way to Masadora and try and ignore most of the monsters, though they didn't get far before they ran into the single ugliest horse any of them had ever seen, which promptly disappeared after spitting a bunch of blue and red bubbles at them. Following that was an endless stream of bizarre monsters that barred their path and were either too difficult or too tricky for them to defeat for a variety of reasons forcing them to run away, hide or take a detour around them. The pattern continued for a couple of hours up until they ran into a moving suit of armor. The group were all set to have another hard fight when they heard a voice shouting instructions at them.

" _Gyo!_ Keep your eyes on it! Use _Gyo!_ Don't tell me you don't know how!?"

Deciding to heed the advice and think about the source, who Harry happened to know was their stalker, later, all three activated _Gyo_ and easily found out why they had been told to use the technique. The helpful voice of their stalker was quick to notice their use of the technique.

"See that? The armor is just a puppet so attacks won't work against it."

As the suit of armor attacked Harry and Killua, Gon followed the aura trail to the suit's controller, defeating the monster and resulting in the suit of armor instantly collapsing. It was at this point that their stalker made herself fully known.

"So, you _can_ use _Gyo_. Why didn't you use it before?"

"Uh well…"

"You see…"

"hehehe…."

"So you all forgot…"

Their stalker deadpanned as she heaved a sigh before lifting up one of her fingers. None of them really understood what she was doing until she explained herself with a rather annoyed tone of voice.

"Why are you just standing there? _Gyo_!"

The trio hastily reactive the eye technique and saw the reason for the girl's finger to be raised.

"Well? What do you see?"

"""The number 1."""

Their stalker smiled at their answer, pleased by their success. "Good. Now listen up. If I lift my finger you use _Gyo_ , and then you holler out what you see. If you ever sense anything suspicious you also use _Gyo_. Got it?"

"Wait! Why are you ordering us around?" In response to Killua's words their stalker simply raised her finger again, Harry and Gon were quick to activate _Gyo_ , not really caring about the girl's assumed authority like Killua did.

""The number 5!""

"Correct." The girl smiled at Harry and Gon before turning to Killua. "You, drop and give me two hundred push-ups."

"Huh!?" Killua looked a combination of both incredulous and pissed, making the other two boys laugh quietly due to how funny it looked.

"It's your punishment game, get to it!" Their stalker answered Killua's unvoiced question like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Killua was not amused. "What the hell!? Why should I!?"

"Got a problem?" Killua didn't notice the vaguely threatening tone in the girl's voice but Harry and Gon sure did.

"You bet! Who do you think you are!?"

Harry decided to step in at this point and head off any potential conflict with the girl. "She probably thinks she's the person who has more experience in _Nen_ than us Killua. Or are you saying you know more than her when she's the only reason we knew to use _Gyo_ on that monster?"

Naturally Killua didn't like Harry's logic. "Shut up Harry! Whose side are you on!?"

"Mine of course. So you're on your own Killua in this sorry… Don't you have push-ups to do?"

Also naturally Killua appreciated his sarcasm even less. "Gahh! That's it! Stand still Harry!"

"Shut it both of you!"

For some strange reason both the Zoldycks felt compelled to instantly obey the girls barked order without even thinking. Gon just snickered quietly on the sidelines the whole time, at least until the girl sent a glare his way for his troubles before deciding to (finally) introduce herself.

"*Ahem* I don't seem to have introduced myself yet, I'm the pro Hunter, Biscuit Krueger. I first learned _Nen_ 40 years ago and I'm going to use my wealth of knowledge and experience to coach you boys. You should be grateful."

"Forty years ago!?"

"You're an old hag!"

"Tch what a letdown, and here I thought you were a cute girl when you're really just a granny who's gets off on the attention of young boys just like every other person we seem to run into."

Killua and Harry received rather large lumps on their heads for their rather rude comments, though Gon was spared a similar fate thanks not possessing Foot-In-The-Mouth Disease like his assassin friends. Once Harry and Killua recovered from their head trauma Biscuit proceeded to give more information about herself.

"Wow! You've been an examiner, that's so cool." Were Gon's simple thoughts.

"I can't believe you actually spanked Wing just because he stole your tea during training." Harry voiced, amusement and incredulity evident in his voice.

"That's assuming that she's telling the truth." Killua remained skeptical however, not wanting to believe Biscuit was who she said she was.

"Tch, you're a stubborn little boy… I like to see that in kids." Biscuit smirked at Killua's pouting.

"And that doesn't sound creepy at allll… Seriously are we cursed or something? Every new person we meet seem to get along a little too well with little boys."

Harry received another smack to the head for his comments, though he thought it was worth it. The truth was out there! He was certain that _Nen_ use did something funky to a person's preferences and the world deserved to know.

Biscuit of course completely ignored Harry's comments beyond the blow to the head and continued on with their original topic. "*Ahem* You said that you weren't desperate right? Book!"

"Eh? That's…" Gon's surprised voice petered off as Biscuit confirmed his suspicions.

"That's right. Take a look, that monster you had so much trouble with is a normal card that doesn't go in a restricted slot. The problem is that there are many people who could have effortlessly obtained this card while you three could not. If you run into someone who's stronger and has evil intentions…" Biscuit abruptly changed tracks. "Sit down…Pretend that we're chatting."

Though confused by the rather sudden change in topic all three complied with Biscuit's order. Thankfully though she was quick to explain what was going on. "There's an enemy behind me, don't probe for him, he'll notice."

"How did you sense him?" Killua asked the question all three were curious to know the answer too.

"He let a tiny bit of bloodlust escape. The enemy saw a bunch of kids and he relaxed for a second." Biscuit replied matter of factly.

"Doesn't that mean he's weak?" "Or at the very least inexperienced?" Was the response from the two Zoldyck's.

Biscuit shook her head in denial of their assertions. "No, he immediately concealed his presence again. It was only the slightest bit of bloodlust, and he quickly concealed it so he's pretty good."

Harry felt a hit to his pride at his inability to detect the enemy, as did Killua, though Gon seemed unaffected as he asked Biscuit for advice. "What should we do?"

"What do you think?" Biscuit questioned.

After thinking for a few moments Gon replied. "The four of us should move together."

"Your reason is?"

"I'm guessing he decided to use caution because there are four of us. If we stick together he'll be less eager to attack."

Harry and Killua had to nod at their friends reasoning and voice their agreement. "I agree with Gon." "Same."

Biscuit gave a light smile at that. "Well, you're right, but that's not what we're going to do. If I go off on my own the enemy is one hundred percent guaranteed to attack me. I'll go south, you boys go north. Walk five hundred meters without concealing your presences. Aim for that pillar, once you get there use _Zetsu_ then rush back immediately."

"Okay, stalk the stalker-"

Biscuit instantly slapped Killua across the face before he completed his sentence, which would have been funny if it hadn't been so out of nowhere that it stunned Harry and Gon into silence.

"Fine then! Be that way! I've had enough! Bye-bye." Biscuit yelled, acting like the child she appeared to be.

Killua, face still stinging from the slap, was quick to act just as childish in response. "Yeah get lost! WE didn't want you around in the first place! Come on Gon, Harry, let's go."

Harry was struggling to keep a straight face even as he was internally cracking up over the two's interaction but he managed and the three started walking towards the distant pillar, following Biscuit's earlier plan. Killua admitted that he was actually impressed by Biscuit as, even though he had been on full alert, he wasn't even able to react to the slap until the pain registered on his cheek. He then threatened them on pain of death to never reveal that he was impressed by the "shitty old hag", which added a nice bit of levity to the tense situation. When the group reached the pillar however they turned serious once more and, after activating _Zetsu_ rushed back towards Biscuit to help against the enemy. It turned out to be unnecessary as no sooner did they arrive then they got to witness Biscuit completely stomping the strange man into the dirt. Harry called him strange as he had been eating the Biscuits hair when they first arrived looking all too "happy" about it. Again Harry was certain that _Nen_ warped people's brains. Their new teacher, heedless of Harry's internal thoughts, decided to then turn the moment into a teaching one.

"During that battle, what did you see first?"

"The guy being flipped through the air."

"Same here."

"Me too."

Biscuit just nodded, looking neither pleased nor displeased by the trio's answers. "If he were an in-game character he'd have a D-rank in terms of difficulty. It would have been an instant game over for you boys. That makes the second time I've seen you barely escape death. How long will your good fortune last?"

None of the three were comfortable after hearing that, though it was Gon who spoke up first. "Ms. Biscuit."

"Please just call my Biscuit, calling me Ms. makes me feel old."

""You are old.""

For the third time that night Harry and Killua paid for their mouthy comments with a blow to the head each. Gon decided to distract Biscuit so she didn't continue to vent her fury on his hapless friends and cause (further) brain damage.

"Why are you here Biscuit?

Biscuit looked thoughtful as she replied. "Well I'm here to clear the game, but I'm mainly after a jewel."

"A jewel?"

"mhm. There's a jewel that can only be found here. It goes in restricted slot #81 and it's called Blue Planet." Here Biscuit started drooling slightly before recovering. "What about you boys?"

"We're here to clear the game obviously."

"and to have fun doing it."

Gon decided to tack on additional information to the Zoldyck's responses. "Actually my dad made this game. I'm looking for my dad so I thought this game might contain a lead."

Biscuit looked surprised. "Who's your dad?"

"Ging Freecss."

"Ging!?"

"You know him?"

"Of course I do! He's famous. Chairman Netero once said he was one of the top five _Nen_ users in the world."

That was quiet the claim, and more than a little intimidating. For Gon however Biscuit's words merely caused a fire to be lit in his eyes as he calmly voiced his next question. "…Biscuit, if you'd be willing to postpone your treasure hunt, would you be willing to please teach us _Nen_?"

As if she had been waiting for this request all along Biscuit smiled smugly. "You've finally come around? I'm a lot tougher than Wing you know? Are you ready?

Gon didn't even hesitate. "Yes!"

"And what about you two?"

"I'll be fine."

"I'm ready."

It was at this point that Biscuit's former opponent finally managed to regain consciousness, though he seemed pretty roughed up so how exactly he did that so quickly was a mystery. Their new teacher, proving that just because she was strong and experienced didn't make her a good role model, wasted no time mugging the man for his cards before giving him an ultimatum.

"I'm going to give you a chance, you must evade the attacks of these three boys for two weeks. If you do, I'll let you escape. If you're knocked unconscious or can't stand…I'll kill you."

The man gulped slightly at Biscuit's threat. "…I just have to avoid their attacks right? It doesn't matter what else I do to them?"

Biscuit simply nodded. "Sure. But there's one rule, you aren't allowed to leave this crater. If you break this rule, you lose or activate the other two conditions, you're dead."

"What about us?"

"The same rules apply, only I won't kill you for failing. Instead you'll have to do one of my punishments…" Left unsaid was just how terrifying she would make said punishment if they failed. "You're the Bounty Hunter Binolt, right?"

"Yeah…"

Again Biscuit nodded, likely already knowing the truth but simply wanting confirmation of it as a way of encouraging her new students. "There's a bounty on his head as well. He's a brutal murderer." For Harry that was all he needed for motivation, same for Gon and Killua, which Biscuit easily noticed. "Now then… Begin!"

Initially the three made no moves to attack Binolt, instead opting to wait for an opening to make their move. Unfortunately, they couldn't find one, not even when he went to his knees to conserve strength. Biscuit wouldn't let them keep dawdling though and ordered them to attack. Killua was the first to try and nearly received a pair of _Nen_ coated scissors to the face for his troubles, only his reflexes and training keeping him from dying or losing his eyes. Gon was quick to follow up when Binolt seemed to collapse from the strain of his prior attack, to a similar lack of success. Harry took that opportunity to make his own move while their opponent was still occupied and nearly got shanked in the kidney for his troubles. He briefly thought of using his _Hatsu_ but gave up on that idea, determining that it wouldn't be affective enough even with Binolt being injured as he was. Instead, after a brief conversation, they decided to turn the fight into a battle of attrition by tossing rocks at Binolt. Gon, as was his want, took it much further by using "small" boulders in place of the simple stones Killua was thinking of. It turned out to actually be an ingenious idea as the man couldn't cut throw the large rocks and, according to Biscuit's commentary, they couldn't have won in a drawn out fight like they planned anyways.

They basically manhandled the Bounty Hunter at that point thanks to their strategy, actually managing to back him into a corner after only half a day. At first they had simply used the boulders to get close to him and protect themselves from the man's scissors, but eventually they managed to completely reshape the battlefield. Whereas before the crater bottom was almost entirely clear, now it was littered by human sized boulders, perfect size to use to launch ambushes from and retreat behind to avoid any counter attacks. They actually managed to back him into a losing position using that strategy, with Killua poised to finished him off before Gon called him off. Their friend's actions confused the two assassins at first, until he explained his reasoning. It actually made sense to draw their battle out for the full two weeks as a means of training themselves once Gon pointed out that possibility so they went with it. They decided to take a break for the night at that point and continue the next day. Binolt tried to be sneaky in the middle of the night but the trio's senses were in overdrive so it ultimately failed.

They continued to use Binolt for training the next day, this time without the boulders, which made it much harder, especially since the man had used the night to recover slightly. Which was the pattern the combatants fell into for the full two-week time frame. As a result of both their talent and efforts the training quickly bore fruit as every day they improved leaps and bounds, all of them growing faster, stronger and more refined in their ability to fight and use _Nen_ , until the last day finally arrived. By that point all three of them could defeat the Bounty Hunter by themselves, though apparently when they proved as much it crushed his last semblance of hope. He asked Gon to let him die at that point.

"I refuse."

"Gon! What are you saying? This man is a serial killer! Who knows how many people he's killed or what he did to them before he finally ended their lives!" Harry did not want to spare this man. He was the kind of person that Harry never hesitated to end the life of nor felt any guilt or remorse for doing so.

Gon looked sternly at Harry. "We aren't going to kill him Harry."

Harry was pissed and it showed. "Why the hell now!?"

"Because he's not a bad person. He helped us after all."

Harry was too stunned by Gon's incredibly stupid and naïve answer, so much so that he missed his chance of talking the other's into agreeing with him. Gon's decision to spare his life and refusal to back down from Harry was enough to somehow magically change Binolt's character, making him feel genuine remorse for his past actions. The ability to talk a _Nen_ using mass murderer into not only change his way but turn himself into the police was as terrifying as it was impressive to the group, though Harry was more pissed off with his friend than anything else. Still, while Harry was both and annoyed about Gon's thought process it was ultimately pointless to do anything to the man now so he let didn't obstruct him as he walked off.

After sending the Bounty Hunter off, and letting Harry's mood improve slightly, Biscuit then instructed the trio on their next task, traveling to Masadora. Though not before making them all do three thousand push-ups for being too slow to activate their _Gyo_ when she put up her finger. After their punishment she expected them to complete the seventy kilometer trip to Masadora in three hours. The blond haired loli-baba took way too much pleasure from their reaction to that news than was strictly healthy in Harry's mind.

They did actually manage to make it in the set time frame though so, despite their exhaustion, they were happy. Of course after making their one and only stop to a department store it was time to head back to the rocky area they had just came from, also in only three hours of running. Needless to say the three boys were barely standing by the time they got back, which Biscuit took as the perfect opportunity to start the next part of their training the sadist. They were to head back to Masadora... again…directly…in a straight line…through several mountains… using nothing but shovels. Looks of pure dismay and loathing were very common that day, as were the cruel, cruel laughs of their blond taskmistress.

The work of creating a straight path to Masadora was absolutely brutal and they only managed a few hundred meters that first day before collapsing in exhaustion. Of course Biscuit made even their rest a form of training as they had to keep alert for possible attacks while they slept lest they get brained by the rocks they had to hold over their heads. At least Harry and Killua had practiced with that kind of thing several times in the past, albeit in different form. Gon however didn't… needless to say he didn't any sleep that night and likely lost more than a few brain cells as well.

Biscuit didn't accept any excuses however and the trio were back at work early again the next morning. They and made slightly more progress luckily, though that was mostly because they had more time thanks to not spending six hours running to and from Masadora than anything else. That night Gon got an upgrade on his rock's size as a result of his (lack of) results from the night prior. Both Harry and Killua were worried that his friend would kill off all his brain cells before they could complete their training.

The next day however they ran into a problem (beyond Gon's lack of sleep and head trauma) when they ran into a rock layer in a mountain that they couldn't dig through with the shovel. Gon once again showed his hidden depths (and proved that he had enough brain cells to spare) by being the first to figure out the hidden task of this part of their training, using their _Nen_ on the shovels to dig through the mountains faster. It made their task much easier and they ended up completing that segment of their training in a few days rather than the few weeks it would have otherwise taken. They still practiced the technique, which Biscuit informed them was called _Shu_ , as part of their training but it was no longer the main focus.

Instead, their focus, now that they were done with creating a literal straight path to Masadora, was obtaining all the monster cards in the area. According to Biscuit they had the necessary physical capabilities to defeat all the monsters nearby, they simply lacked the experience and ability to come up with an attack plan on the fly, which was what the training was supposed to fix. They ended up going after some familiar faces during this leg of their training, from the annoyingly fast Hyper Puffball to the giant Melanin Lizard. As part of their training they also had to come up with plans to defeat each monster on their own with zero help from Biscuit or the others, which made sense if one thought about it. It took them each about two weeks to capture all the monsters in the area and complete that segment of their training, though that was more because of the variety of monsters than actual difficulty they represented. Harry and Killua actually finished faster than Gon by a few days thanks to their previous experience as assassins but in the end all three passed with flying colors after Gon caught his last monster, the Bubble Horse, which required rapid switching between _Zetsu_ and _Ten_ to beat.

Biscuit wasted no time starting the third phase of their training at that point, which was them working on their defense. She started by giving a demonstration on _Ko_ , a _Nen_ ability that combined all the basic techniques they had already learned. Coincidently, this was also the technique Gon developed for his _Hatsu_ , giving him a slight leg up on his two friends at the beginning. All _Ko_ was however, was concentrating all of their aura into one part of their body and then using it to attack, so Gon's advantage didn't last long.

Their goal for this leg of their training was to defend against Biscuit's _Ko_. The only problem with that was that defending against all of Biscuit's concentrated aura with their normal _Ten_ shroud would cause them a lot of damage. Gon thought they should use _Ko_ as well to defend against the blow, but he was wrong though only partially. The trick was to essentially use _Ko_ on their entire body despite how contradictory that sounded, a technique that combined _Ten_ and _Ren_ called _Ken_. While the technique didn't quite match up to _Ko_ normally, it was far more practical as it didn't run the risk of getting hit in a place their aura _didn't_ cover if they used _Ko_ , which would be very bad for their health to say the least.

 _Ken_ , as it turned out, was a very tiring technique and none of the trio could use it for more than two minutes at first without becoming completely exhausted. Thankfully there were three of them to rotate through the exercise, as it required them to defend against Biscuit's attacks they couldn't all go at once, so they had time to recover between sessions. It took them an entire month to reach the point where they could hold the technique for 30 minutes straight (the end goal Biscuit set for them), though that was standing still and simply waiting for a potential blow to land and not in actual combat. Of course throughout this month of training, as well as the two previous legs, Biscuit never failed to keep them on their toes with surprise _Gyo_ tests, in which the two slowest ones to answer had to do a punishment. The punishments, because Biscuit was a sadist, meant push-ups in a thousand strong sets at a time, usually with weight…and dodging rocks. At least they were all putting on some muscle tone, though none of them really thought it was worth it when it was their turn.

Following their _Ken_ was actual combat practice with the technique, reaffirming Harry's opinion that Biscuit was a phenomenal teacher as that readily addressed their shortcomings in the use of _Ken_ at that point. She did introduce them to a new technique called _Ryu_ before that they did though, which was really just an application of _Gyo_ while using _Ken_ to strengthen their aura in specific parts of their body on the fly for both attack and defense. The first day or two was simply getting used to the technique and gaining experience properly gauging the percentage of aura they diverted for either attack or defense. Like _Shu_ had before it practicing _Ryu_ became part of their daily training regime, along with running to Masadora and the new addition of sparring (using _Ken_ / _Shu_ of course).

Harry enjoyed this part of their training the most, as did Gon and Killua if he knew them like he thought he did, thanks to being less monotonous. Their sparring sessions ended up being a little chaotic as, more often than not, all three of them sparred against each other at the same time, but that was more of a plus in Biscuit's (and their) book than a detriment. Biscuit's reasons had something to do with constant awareness, multiple attack angels and it being practical in real combat while the younger trio's reason was because none of them were left out. They had to go slow at first of to get used to the new method of fighting of course. Very slow. But, like everything else they did, they took off with their new training as if they had been born to do it.

After two weeks of sparring they had gotten back up to the point where they were fighting at their full combat speed, much to Biscuit's slight surprise and delight. Like the other aspects of their training however they didn't suddenly stop sparring, instead merely adding it to their increasingly long daily routine as they moved on to the next, and final, phase of Biscuit's training regime, specific aura type training, which all three were extremely excited about.

The training was essentially learning how to improve their understanding of their _Nen_ category and how better to apply it to their aura, and their individual _Hatsu_ as a result. Surprisingly enough Biscuit didn't want them to focus entirely on their base category, instead making them work on at least one of their two second strongest categories as well. Apparently this would allow them to develop in a balanced fashion and even improve in their natural category at a faster rate. As Gon was an Enhancer, he would be working on Enhancer, Emitter and Transmuter training while Killua, being a Transmuter, would be working on Transmuter, Enhancer and Conjuration training. It was all pretty straight forward until it was Harry's turn to share his category.

"Now then, Harry what category are you?"

"I'm a Specialist."

Biscuit looked mildly surprised. "Hoh? That's quite rare, what's your Trait?"

"I think I have two, that or one is the byproduct of the other. I'm only certain that I have one Trait however as I didn't know how to find out if Wing's and my hunch on the other was correct or not."

Biscuit looked curious at that and simply motioned him to continue the explanation, which Harry readily did.

"The first one, and the one I know for a fact exists, is that I have the ability to understand any _Nen_ technique I see, if given enough time of course. There are several limitations that I've found but the important ones are that I have to see it being performed from a living person, so I get nothing from _Nen_ infused objects or recordings, and the second is that the more complicated a technique the longer it requires to understand it."

Biscuit hummed thoughtfully as she mulled over Harry's explanation before responding. "That's an incredibly useful ability, I assume that was why you tended to improve faster on the techniques I've taught you than Gon or your brother."

Harry just nodded in agreement, not planning on hiding it at all. "Basically. I was learning what both you, Gon and Killua knew about them at the same time I was practicing the techniques myself so that helped my understanding quite a bit. I only get theoretical knowledge though, so I can't just reflexively activate a technique I know without ever trying it before hand."

"I see… and? What's the other Trait you think you have?"

Harry hesitated for a moment before answering. "I think I have a strong affinity for the other _Nen_ categories as well, about the same as someone who possesses them naturally, but again I'm not sure."

Biscuit hummed noncommittedly. "Why do you think that?"

Harry shrugged. "It's partially based on the reaction I got during my Water Divination and partly based on my experience with creating my _Hatsu_. During my divination my aura caused the water to develop impurities, change colors, overflow and change taste, while the leaf on top also moved against the current caused by the overflow. As it wasn't a standard reaction and you can only be labelled under one category Wing and I consider myself a Specialist. As for my _Hatsu_ well it utilizes techniques from three different categories and I didn't particularly struggle with any of them, even if my technique itself is far from finished."

"Hmm… Show me."

Harry gave a nod and with a cry of " **Los Lobos!** " and a snap of his fingers for dramatic effect the same four wolves he had shown Tsezguerra appeared around him. They hadn't changed at all since he first created the technique as Harry hadn't had any time to practice his _Hatsu_ since entering Greed Island but apparently it was suitably impressive to Biscuit, Gon and Killua judging by the looks on their faces. Come to think of it that was the first time Harry had shown either of them his _Hatsu_ before. Now the only member of the group whose _Hatsu_ wasn't known to the others was Killua's, well him and Biscuit.

"Impressive for someone with only basic training. I can tell that you are using Conjuration and Manipulation techniques for them but what's the third… could it be Emission?"

Harry slumped slightly at Biscuit's deduction. "…I don't know whether to be impressed or depressed that you figured it out so quickly. Yes, the third category is Emission. I use Conjuration to create the form and give them 'life', Manipulation to control and direct them and Emission to pack them full of aura so that they explode on command or impact depending on what I want."

Biscuit just nodded, ignoring Harry's exaggerated depression. "How long did you take to learn to do that?"

"4 days, though I'm still far from my desired goals. I can barely control them past a couple meters and even then they're shaky, they're smaller than I want by at least half and the damage they could do is only enough to break a wood board." Harry was unashamed as he listed his techniques shortcomings.

Biscuit appeared thoughtful. "Hmm I see… I think you're probably right about your hunch as you really should have lagged behind in at least one of those areas and as far as I can tell you made about equal progress in each. You might be slightly more inclined to Conjuration but that could be a product of your Trait if you witnessed any similar technique beforehand." The last comment was more of a question than a statement.

Harry nodded in affirmation. "I did, I watched a fight where one of the participants could make a doppelganger of himself and was able to get the basic workings of the technique. Not enough to replicate it fully but enough to already know how to create basic aura constructs."

"Then your natural disposition towards Conjuration is likely the same as the others." Biscuit started drooling slightly at this point, unnerving Harry greatly. "Ahhh, so much potential to work with I don't even know where to start. Should I have you do equal amounts training for Manipulation, Emission and Conjuration to improve your _Hatsu._ Or should I have you work on all categories including Enhancement and Transmutation. The former would have the best short term results, and possibly even long term as well as you wouldn't be splitting your focus as much but the latter… There would be a lot of work involved and you might end up becoming a jack of all trade but master of none, though with your raw potential…"

"Uh? Biscuit?" Harry tried to interrupt his teacher's rambling to no effect.

"But where should I have you start? It would be best to have you start in your natural category but there isn't a way to train basics for a Specialist, their Traits develop on their own. So where should he start? Conjuration maybe? He already has a head start on that. But Enhancement would also be good and would make him a better fighter simply using his body…"

"Biscuit!" This time shouting seemed to do the trick as Biscuit snapped out of her dazed thoughts.

"AH! Sorry, I got a bit carried away there." Biscuit laughed sheepishly.

Harry just sighed. "It's fine. I just wanted to give my opinion on the matter."

Biscuit looked honestly curious about his answer. "Oh? And what is that?"

"I actually want to try and work on all five categories."

"Hmm…Your reasoning?"

"Well I figure that you'll be showing us way to practice basic skills for each of the categories right?"

"That's correct."

"And those skills are based on _Nen_ right." Harry stated leadingly, his thoughts quickly being picked up by the rest of the group.

"Also correct…You want to take advantage of your Trait to overcome the extra time required to work them, at least partially, I take it?

"Basically. I figure that seeing you perform the exercises a few times while also practicing with Gon and Killua will boost my understanding enough for it not to be too much of an extra burden on the categories we share training in. After all, between them that covers four of the five categories."

"That's pretty well thought out Harry, good job… very well that's what we'll do then. First up, Enhancement!"

The Enhancer training was as simple as those who were part of that category, smashing one rock against the other to make it break. It was a bit more complicated than that as they had to infuse their aura into a rock and use to it smash a thousand stones in day without it breaking to get a pass but not by much. Killua was actually the one to do the best in the task initially, despite Gon being the only natural Enhancer among the trio. Harry wasn't that far behind though and, soon enough, took the slight lead in the group as per usual. Once more Harry was glad that all he got for doing so was a few well-natured grumbles from his friend and brother.

They only did Enhancer training that first day, Biscuit declaring that they would only do one category each day to give them time to work on both it and the other parts of their routine as well. The second day was for Transmuter training and it involved forming their aura into the numbers 0 – 9 while running through the nearby forest at the same time. For this exercise Harry was in the lead from the very beginning thanks to already knowing everything about the technique after witnessing Biscuit use it for over two months. It didn't take him long to get basic proficiency with the exercise, nearly completing it on the first day alone in fact. Killua was the second best at the technique while Gon the worst (he ended up running face first into rock walls and trees several times much to the complaint of his brain).

The next day was Emitter training, or at least it was supposed to be. Instead the group learned Gon's new idea for his _Hatsu_ , which was basically a _Nen_ version of Rock-Paper-Scissors, and were finally showed Killua's _Hatsu_ , which was the ability to turn his aura into electricity. Harry was definitely going to figure that out himself at some point, maybe even incorporate it into Los Lobos, it was just too cool not to. He had almost all the same experiences as Killua during their childhood so he could basically understand how he did it even without his Trait providing him information. It was basically impossible to forget the feeling of a few million volts coursing through his body after all, he'd just have to find out how it felt now that he had aura (he never did get to fight Riehlvelt and Killua refused to share his Taser). After that little episode Biscuit decided to give them a rest day and have a little party, during the course of which they finally remembered it was getting close to the deadline to apply for the Hunter Exam. A quick trip to Masadora later and they found out a method of leaving Greed Island, which involved beating up the chief of police at one of the island's port towns much to Harry's amusement. They could have bribed him too but Harry thought that latter was much more fun and efficient.

After "persuading" the NPC Killua obtained the necessary card to leave, while Harry earned the slight fear of Gon and Biscuit (who were rather disturbed by his cackling). They shared a round of goodbyes after that and, before Killua left, Gon told him a guaranteed method to get to the exam area. The method involved talking to monsters called Kiriko that Gon had apparently made friends with (big surprise) during the last exam. With their goodbyes said and Killua now gone Biscuit started back up Gon's and Harrys training, finally teaching them the Emitter exercise.

The exercise consisted of two parts, first they had to form a bubble of aura on their finger and maintain it for a whole minute (easier for Harry than for Gon) and the second was to throw the bubble several meters into a rock without it popping. Harry obviously had little trouble with the first part and was already working on to the second when their training ended up getting interrupted. The man that showed up was dark skinned, wore a blue coat and pants, and had a serious expression on his face. Harry recognized him as a fellow new player, as did Biscuit. The alarming thing about him sudden appearing though was the presence of what appeared to be a _Nen_ bomb on his shoulder. Apparently he was there to warn them about the Bomber, whose true identity was Genthru, the unassuming looking blonde man who had been part of the group trying to recruit them the first day they arrived on Greed Island. According to Abengane, which was their new informant's name, Genthru had managed to place his bombs on every member of his clearing group, essentially taking them all hostage in order to get rare cards to beat the game himself.

After giving his warning, and trying to guilt trip them into going after the Bomber, Abengane left, ostensibly to spread his warning and the bomber's identity to other players. Neither Harry nor Biscuit were fooled by the man's manipulations but Gon wasn't so capable. Still in the end it didn't matter if he did as they were likely to run into the Bomber sooner or later. The group decided to head into Masadora for buy spells cards to prepare for the inevitable confrontation and complete the game in general at that point.

It was rather morbid when the group realized that the sudden influx of spell cards available at the store was caused by the deaths of over twenty players but needs must and all that. They ended up getting rather lucky with their card packs as they obtained a rare S-rank spell card when opening them. Gon had to be reminded to keep that information to himself after he all but screamed they had it to all and sundry. Harry could understand his excitement but sometimes he wondered just what went on his friend's head exactly. They called it a day after running back to camp and that night Gon, finally, managed to sleep without dropping the boulder on his head once, much to Harry's secret disappointment. Gon's reactions to the hits had been rather funny whenever they happened and Harry was saddened by their loss.

The next day it was back to training as usual. This time Harry was introduced to the Conjurer exercise while Gon went back to the Enhancer training, Gon not having to work on the extra category. The Conjurer exercise consisted of Harry making copies of a small green leaf with his aura. The goal was to eventually make an exact duplicate, down to each individual vein, crinkle and tear. Once he did that he'd have to create his duplicate leaf in an instant to get a full passing grade from Biscuit. It was much more of a struggle for Harry than he thought it would be at first. The level of detail he had to remember was extreme and having to form it in an instant even more so. With his Los Lobos he didn't actually pay that much attention to detail on his wolves. He usually just let his instincts guide him, which meant they ended up with just enough of the general shape of a wolf to be recognized as such. He didn't add things like individual strands of fur or even teeth really, seeming them as inefficient at the time. He also wasn't too concerned with making identical each time he made them so every time he used his _Hatsu_ there were slight differences. Needless to say Harry had a lot of work cut out for him.

The day after that Gon followed his rotation and worked on Transmutation while Harry was introduced to the last of the basic exercises. The Manipulator exercise consisted of getting an articulated wooden puppet (that Biscuit pulled out of nowhere) to move exactly like a human, including fighting, dancing and other complicated activities, within a ten-meter range of himself. While difficult and occasionally frustrating Harry found the exercise quite fun and often tried to make the puppet do silly things like doing the worm or moon walking, albeit rather badly. Surprisingly enough Biscuit approved of his playing around with the puppet, or maybe not so surprisingly as those motions were actually quite complicated and perfecting them would only help master the technique. When the next day came Harry started over from the beginning of his rotation with Enhancer training as Gon worked on Emission. Which was how things went until Killua returned six days later. By that point Gon managed to get a rough version of his new _Hatsu_ complete while Harry's Los Lobos had improved fairly significantly in all aspects if he said so himself.

Harry, Gon and Biscuit were there to greet Killua when he returned and they shared the good news on their spell card acquisition. Killua was fairly exited by the news and almost forgot to tell them he had passed the Hunter Exam in his rush to test out the cards and soothe his gaming addiction. They experienced quite the shock however when, after activating a Contact card, they found Chrollo Luficer's name in their contact list. They didn't think it was possible at first considering Kurapika had sealed his _Nen_ , at least until Biscuit informed them that it was indeed possible to remove _Nen_ bindings/contracts. Killua quickly went to contact Kurapika at that point to inform him of the news, resulting in another beat up police chief. It turned out to be unnecessary as Kurapika already knew of the possibility but he did inform them that he would have felt it if his binding had been removed so "Chrollo" was likely a fake.

With nothing to worry about for the time being Biscuit decided that instead of going back to full time training they would work towards clearing the game. Harry was honestly surprised, not excepting her to stop their training when neither he nor Gon had mastered any of their exercises and Killua had only gotten two days to work on them before leaving. When he voiced those doubts Biscuit was oddly pleased and more than happy to explain. It made sense when she framed it as getting more experience and it wasn't like they were stopping their training all together so Harry was quickly appeased.

Going after the restricted slot cards was both fun and a good method of practicing their skills like Biscuit said it would be. From punching a giant tree and making it rain bugs, to rescuing a young girl from the mob and winning a contest in Antokiba (again). The Paladin's Necklace was an incredibly useful card that protected the wearer from attack spells and even dispels cards under the transformation effect. They let Gon wear it and needless to say they milked those abilities for all they were worth by letting Gon carry all their important cards and being the front man when making trades with other players. Apparently Leave cards were a hot commodity as most players had given up on clearing the game and simply wanted to return to the "real" world.

For about a month they continued working toward clearing the game with the only thing of note in their personal lives was Killua's briefly resurgent gambling problem. Harry was quick to snap him out of it after they got the needed cards from the casinos but he wasn't very happy. At least this time he didn't try to claw Harry's face for taking him away from the slot machines, so that was a plus. There routine was fairly straightforward during this time. Every morning they'd spar using _Ryu_ for a half an hour and then work on one of the type training exercises for another half an hour. After that they'd go hunting for restricted slot cards for the rest of the day, taking a break for lunch and to have another hour of training similar to what they did in the morning, and again at night before they went to sleep back at their home base. Each restricted card was an adventure in and of itself to obtain and by the end of the month that had acquired over 50 of the cards needed to clear the game, including Lucky Alexandrite which no one else had obtained up until that point. The funny thing was they had only obtained after Gon remember the bandits they had given their clothes to and wondered if the Paladin's Necklace would cure their sickness. Turns out it did and the Lucky Alexandrite was their reward... they refused to give them back to their clothes though which resulted in Harry nearly tearing down their village in his rage.

At that point Harry decided to go on his own solo adventure. He had a lot of fun collecting cards with the group but this was something he had to do on his own. During their many forays into the cities of Greed Island Harry had heard mention of a restricted slot card that he _needed_ to get. Card number 031, Double Postcard of the Dead. Beyond needing it for clearing the game Harry wanted it for its ability, which was to allow one to send and receive messages to a deceased person, in Harry's case he wanted to try and talk to his mother. It was possible, even likely, that it wouldn't work considering this wasn't his world and he wasn't sure if the afterlife carried over but he had to try. Luckily Killua was tactful enough to read between the lines when he mentioned the card and kept the others from prying to deeply, for which Harry was grateful.

Double Postcard of the Dead was an S-rank cared with only thirteen allowed copies to exists so it was likely to be somewhat of a challenge, though not as much as the other two S-ranks they had obtained so far (which had an 8 and 10 copy limit respectively). Still, they had managed to get those cards without suffering any harm even if it required a lot of effort, so Harry wasn't worried.

According to the information Harry overheard, and latter bribed the crap out of someone to expand upon, Card 031 was said to be obtained through a quest at Greed Islands largest (and technically only) graveyard. The graveyard, lazily called Graveyard, was in a far corner of the island, roughly 200km from their base in the canyons, but with a simple Return spell to the nearest city that was cut down to a mere 30 km. Of course the quest could only be completed at night so Harry still went through his full daily training routine before setting off as he had plenty of time with which to complete it.

Once he arrived at the graveyard Harry searched for the quest giver, a grave digger called Yorick. Yorick was a rather creepy looking NPC that was about three times Harry's size even with his hunched over posture. He also wore a tattered black cloak that covered his face in darkness, bar his eerie yellow eyes, and was equipped with a large shovel and an old school oil lantern. He was also extremely hostile towards any "intruders" as Harry soon found out.

With a cry of rage, that was more animal than human, Yorick leapt at Harry with much more speed and grave than he had been expecting, his large shovel held over his head like a battle axe. Thankfully however he had been expecting the attack so dodging was simple, as was counter attacking. Yorick was unkillable so Harry didn't hold back at all when he smashed his fist into the gravedigger's face, launching him a good 15 meters away and through several tombstones. When Harry went over to "finish the job" Yorick quickly pleaded for his life, triggering the next stage of the quest.

After Harry proved that, yes he did not in fact want to murder him, Yorick was all too quick to start lavishing praises on him, expounding on how magnanimous and strong he was. It was extremely creepy, especially when all of that was said in the rasping guttural voice Yorick possessed, but Harry barred with it for the sake of completing the quest. Eventually Yorick begged Harry to fight off the ghost that had been plundering the graves for the past few days as he was incapable of doing so himself, naturally Harry accepted.

The ghost was easy enough to find as it caused fog in the nearby area around it. The ghost was a rather disturbing combination of a fat post man and the Grim Reaper and had about as much people skills as well. As soon as Harry was spotted by the creature it attacked him with a scythe made of old fashioned letters. Despite the monster's appearance it was blindingly fast and Harry, due to not taking it seriously, nearly got bisected by its first strike. Thankfully however he was able to dodge in time that the only damage he suffered was a cut on his undershirt.

As has become the norm in combat ever since meeting Biscuit Harry activated _Gyo_ as he continued to dodge the ghost's attacks. Like every other mob on Greed Island the ghost had a weakness that was highlighted by aura. Unlike other mobs however that weakness wasn't a location to attack, rather it was a line that showed where the creature was going to attack a second before it was about to. For someone who had trouble dealing with the ghost's speed that would be useful, to Harry not so much. With no clear weakness Harry decided to go about things the easy way, namely beat the monster into submission. He did this by getting into its guard. Scythes were decent weapons at a distance but in boxing range? Not so much. Once there Harry simply used _Ryu_ with 70% of his aura in his fists and hammered the ghost for all he was worth. He had to dodge a few wild swipes here or there but ultimately, not two minutes later, he had beaten his opponent into ectoplasm, which promptly turned into a card.

Everything about the card was full of question marks but it was rather easy to figure out that he had to turn it into Yorick to finish the quest, which was what he did. Yorick tried to be difficult at first but, after a beat of "coercion" and using Gain on the card to show the ghost's remains (and wasn't that an oxymoron) his quest was complete and the reward was given. Harry didn't linger in the graveyard after that, though he didn't Gain Double Postcard of the Dead immediately either. Now that he had the card he was hesitating, scared of disappointment if it the card failed and scared of success of it didn't. In the end however he had to do find out one way or another.

Like the name suggested Double Postcard of the Dead looked like simple pre-paid postcards, albeit with a graveyard theme on them. Harry, after another brief moment of hesitation, pick up on of the cards and followed the instructions they came with. It was actually quite simple, all it required was the name of the deceased, in this case Lily Marie Potters nee Evans. What wasn't simple however was figuring out what to right. He agonized over the decision for a solid half hour before finally settling on something simple, mainly expressing his love, asking for her confirmation that she still loved him despite what he has done and asking if she was happy where ever she was. Once done the letter disappeared in a short burst of pale blue fire and Harry returned back to camp as a reply would have to wait for the next day.

Harry didn't sleep that night, feeling too anxious to do so despite his conditioning from the Zoldycks. He wasn't much better during training the next day as he constantly looked around hoping to see a response from his mother. None came. He didn't despair as the cards didn't explain when a reply would arrive beyond "next day" and there was still plenty of time left for it to show up. Of course by the time night fell he was getting apprehensive as there were only a few hours until a full 24 hours had passed. The group had obviously noticed all of this but, once again thanks to Killua, didn't mention it at all. When it was time to go to sleep Harry continued to stay up, waiting on the off chance that the reply would arrive exactly a full day after he sent the card, Killua silently joined him.

Harry didn't cry when the 24th hour finally passed and he didn't receive a reply. He didn't cry, but he definitely wanted to, he just had no more tears left to shed. He knew it was a strong possibility that it wouldn't work but still he had hoped, and now that hope was gone. Thankfully Killua, for all his stunted and warped emotions, knew enough to comfort his brother and Harry was grateful for that, his brother's warm hug helping to drive away that chill in his heart ever so slightly.

The next day Harry took off to recover from the emotional strain from yesterday, which Biscuit was kind enough to allow and Gon was smart enough not to mention. Despite feeling like crap he got better as the day went on until he was finally back to normal by the time supper was done, or at least he appeared that way. Killua knew better and again he comforted his brother before the two fell asleep for the night, helping Harry banish the lingering remnants of his disappoint into the back of his mind, though they still festered there underneath the surface. Still it was enough for him to get back into the swing of things the next day as he fully rejoined the training with Gon and Killua. He had expected it to be a normal day of just training, the last of which before they resumed hunting cards, but was proven wrong that night.

Kaszule, the man who had stolen their card on the first day and they had traded with for Restricted slot cards early in the month long card hunt, called them with Contact asking them to join a meeting between clearing groups. He was apparently worried about the team lead by Genthru getting close to clearing the game, which made sense. After a brief discussion they decided to go as they knew Genthru was the Bomber and thought he was enough of a threat to see where the meeting would lead. Despite some annoying interactions with a woman named Asta, who was very condescending and didn't like what she perceived to be a team full of children being there, the meeting turned out to be quite fruitful for their group. They managed to gain several restricted cards they didn't already possess, including two S-ranks, along with informed of some useful bits of game knowledge they had previously lacked after all. The biggest gain however came when they went to try and monopolize card #2.

Up until that point no one had managed to figure out how to obtain that card but thanks to happenstance they managed to trigger the event that lead to acquiring it. Apparently all that was required was a group of fifteen people to travel to Soufrabi using the Accompany card. A quest would then be trigger where they had to deal with a bunch of pirates known as Razer and his fourteen devils. After Killua "persuaded" one of the devils that was raiding a NPC bar, through liberal application of alcohol and a spark from his _Hatsu_ to the man's face, they were taken to Razer. Interestingly enough all that was required to get the pirates to leave the town, and thus complete the quest, was beating them in multiple sports contests. It was fairly easy all things considered, at least for Harry and the gang. For the rest of their extended group however? Not so much. Not one of them were up to the challenge, bar a man called Goreinu, so they ended up using the contest to gather information for a later attempt with (hopefully) more competent teammates.

After their inevitable loss the group disbanded after they failed to gain a single victory in the contests though neither Harry, Gon, Killua or Biscuit had actually tried. None of them planned to give up on the quest like the others however, though they did need enough competent players for a new team however as they only had 5 members, themselves and Goreinu, which was far from enough to win or even trigger the quest. The first person they thought of contacting, at Harry's urging, was the fake Chrollo Lucifer. Gon, of course, wasn't too keen at the idea of asking a potential Phantom Troupe member for help and neither was Killua to a lesser extent but none of them had any better prospects at the moment.

Luckily, or unluckily in Harry's opinion, "Chrollo Lucifer" turned out to not be a Phantom Troupe member…technically. He was actually Hisoka… and he was naked…and verrryy "happy" to see them. Harry was tempted to claw his eyes out at the "glorious" sight but he couldn't afford to take his eyes off the magician, not when he was radiating blood thirst and killing intent. Biscuit had no problems looking though, at least until Hisoka turned to face her and she decided to try the "demure young lady" act, which disgusting in and of itself really. Thankfully her actions were enough to dispel the tense atmosphere and Hisoka returned to his more "friendly" state. After things calmed down Gon asked about his reason for being there and going under the name of Chrollo, which he answered truthfully enough though Harry suspected he was hiding something, which Biscuit later confirmed. Still despite his lying to them Biscuit still asked for his help with getting car number 2, despite the protests from the rest of the group.

That might have proved to be mistake when the three boys felt Hisoka staring at their asses during the walk to the nearby town, which ironically enough was the "City of Love". Harry hated the irony and was quite upset that his guess about Hisoka's… preferences continued to be right on the money. At least they got him to walk in front of the group so they no longer had to deal with that.

Of course none of them had a clue of anyone else to invite to their party so they were really on traveling to the city to waste time and think on the matter, until they got annoyed by the various cliché romantic encounters and decided to leave. It was a fruitless endeavor though as Gon ended up hitting on the idea of asking Tsezguerra for help during that time. Considering he was both a pro Hunter and the one nominally in charge of them and the rest of their employer's players it was a pretty good idea actually. Thankfully Hisoka of all people had him in his contact list so getting in touch wasn't too hard (none of them had met him in game) and the man was quick to agree to a meeting between their groups.

They talked for a while before Killua decided to use the chance to get some petty revenge and test Tsezguerra's usefulness the same way he did theirs. Tsezguerra ended up showing them his ability to jump several meters in the air with _Nen_ , which was enough to convince them he could be useful even if the ability itself was underwhelming for a _Hatsu_. The expression on his face when all three boys easily copied his technique and even jumped higher than he could was priceless however and served to improve Harry's mood. With Tsezguerra's group joining them they now had 10 people in their party and they were confident in their ability to win a majority of Razer's contests as a result. All that was left was to get in some last minute training and to find five other shmucks to pad their numbers so they could trigger the quest and they'd be set.

A week later and the group gathered once more, ready to challenge Razer and his Devils. They easily won the first 3 events thanks to the efforts of Tsezguerra's party members but after a brief bout of drama, in which Razer killed the devil who Killua lit on fire due to his desire to revolt, the remaining contests were scrapped in favor of an all or nothing dodgeball game against Razer. Harry thought it was unfair but Razer was a Game Master so complaining would have been pointless.

The dodgeball match was to be 8v8 so they had a small problem considering 3 of their competent members were already sidelined, meaning they were one competent member short of a full team. Thankfully Goreinu was a Conjurer and was able to substitute his _Nen_ beast for one of their players, making the numbers even. Harry also managed to receive confirmation that his hunch was correct and that Greed Island was actually just part of the real world during a brief conversation with Razer, Gon and their other groups members, which he felt rather smug about considering Gon, Killua and even Biscuit hadn't figured that out yet. That feeling lasted up until Razer threw the ball the first time. That man was fucking scary and he would have killed Goreinu with that throw if not for his ability to swap places with his _Nen_ beast.

At least he had proven himself useful up until that point, managing to take out 2 members of the other team, which consisted of Razer and 7 other conjured _Nen_ puppets, before he was banned from reentering the court (his _Nen_ gorilla having been their outside ring member and thus swapping meant Goreinu couldn't return without using their one Back). Even worse than that however was that Razer immediately got the ball back after his throw, which he promptly passed at extreme speeds to his "teammates" that had already been taken out of the court (the version of dodgeball they were playing meant that the downed teammates could still be part of the game as outside of the court members).

Tracking the ball as they passed it was extremely hard but everyone on their team managed to follow it, all of them except Tsezguerra that is. He managed to save his life thanks to a quick warning from the trio but he was badly injured and was now disqualified from playing. It was no but at least the ball was on their side of the court now. The trick was keeping it there. Thankfully they had Hisoka on their side and he was able to use his Bungee Gum to retrieve the ball after knocking out one of Razer's Devils. His next throw was thwarted when two of the devils combined however, and the ball was once more in Razers court, much to everyone's quiet dismay.

The young trio were quick to activate their _Ken_ in preparation from the man's throw. Which was a good move as Razer chose to aim for Gon, likely due to his early revelation to being related to Ging. The throw was another killer but Gon managed to use _Ko_ to deflect it and save his life at the last second, though he was blasted out of the ring due to forgetting to anchor his feet with _Nen_. He ended up taking a bit of damage but he was relatively fine and was almost instantly back on his feet, ready to continue the fight as it were. Unfortunately, he had to remain outside of the court due to technically being knocked out and being unable to step back in without using their one Back (which was essentially a "revive"). It wasn't really a problem as the team was more than willing to let him have that chance, they just made him wait before using it.

After Gon's was convinced to stand down for the time being the match started back up again, though they decided to kill time waiting for Gon to get some basic medical treatment for the hit to the head by passing the ball around. Goreinu had other plans however after less than a minute of this however. Whether it was due to wounded pride or a desire to regain his courage the man decided to stop their time wasting scheme and take a shot at Razer. The good news was that it was effective as Goreinu tossed a wicked ball into Razer's face by using the ability of another summoned _Nen_ beast to swap places with the Game Master. The bad news was that Razer's last remaining Devils were able to reclaim the ball before it touched the ground, thus Razer was still in the game. The even worse news was that Goreinu was now unconscious due to being hit in the face in retaliation by one of the Devils. By far the worst news however was that Razer had the ball once more. At least it was still four vs three in their favor, though was likely about to change.

One again Razer's throw was monstrous in its strength and speed. Harry and Killua barely managed to dodge out of the way in time to avoid getting hit despite being ready to move at a moment's notice. When the ball made a surprise turn however, Biscuit was not so lucky as the ball clipped her dress which counted as an out being part of her "body". Hisoka also faced some rather poor luck as a rebound throw from one of the outside devils caused him some light damage (and by light that meant only two broken fingers and a bruised hand rather than a completely shattered arm). At least he managed to catch the ball. Gon decided to use this chance to use their team's revive to reenter the court at this point which wasn't a bad decision as that meant they once again had the numbers advantage, even if two of their team were injured and numbers didn't seem to matter against Razer.

Gon was quick to give a semi-motivational speech to his three remaining teammates and convinced them all that the horrible idea of not dodging Razer's throws was actually the right choice. He only managed to accomplish that insane feat thanks to the stirring up everyone's competitive nature and desire for a straight victory (and thus revenge against Razer), rather than a technical one. At least Gon had a good plan to let them achieve victory, even if it was simple and extremely straightforward. What it boiled down to was this, Gon was going to punch the ball really, really, really hard by using his new _Hatsu_ technique. The technique was extremely effective as the large amounts of compressed aura allowed him to hit the ball at a speed near equal to Razer's own throws, managing to take out the largest remaining Devil despite it being able to "catch" the ball. The only downside was the damage done to Killua's hands but at least Harry was able to switch out with him for the next hit so he could take a rest and they could more evenly distribute the damage. Since the big Devil had been taken out the ball was luckily returned to their team, which meant they had another shot at taking down Razer without having to play "dodge the bullet" first.

The lead up to Gon's next blow was just as impressive as the hit itself. Thanks to there not being a time limit Gon was able to spend as much time as he wanted charging up his technique, the force of which was able to lightly shake the building just from the pressure alone by the time he was done. Razer, instead of trying to dodge the blow, just gave an excited smirk and flared his aura in response, nearly equally Gon's entire compressed output. It wouldn't have been enough had he tried to catch the ball, but that wasn't what Razer did, instead he received it like a volleyball and deflected the ball into the ceiling. He got knocked out of the court as a result but he had perfectly received the blow, at least Hisoka managed to catch the ball with his Bungee Gum so he was declared out. Of course Razer promptly return to the field using his revive and the teams were basically reset, the only difference was that Gon, Killua, Harry and Hisoka were mostly on their last legs and Razer was down a Devil.

Hisoka couldn't use his right arm or throw the ball due to the damage he had taken earlier. Gon was running on fumes in terms of aura from the attacks he had made. The worst were probably Harry and Killua however. The two Zoldycks, in order to keep from dispersing as much of the force behind Gon's attacks as possible, barely used any aura to cover their hands when they held the ball for him. The result was that their hands were in terrible shape, though nowhere near as bad as they could be thanks to both of them only holding the ball for one hit each. Tsezguerra called for a time out upon realizing this and tried to convince Gon to step out to the court so he could hold the ball in their place, as he had the ability to properly protect his hands from the Gon's attack without reducing the force, but none of them agreed. They felt like it would be a cop-out and, despite being called idiots by both Tsezguerra and Biscuit, they got their way. The three decided that Killua would be the one to hold the ball for his last hit, his hands taking relatively less damage than Harry's due to the difference between Gon's two "throws", and the match quickly resumed.

Biscuit, knowing that arguing with her students would be futile, restarted the game by pulling out a trick curved throw to take out the last remaining devil in revenge for her previous defeat, leaving Razer as the last man standing. The ball was even on track to return to their side of the court if not for the tricky kick pulled off by the last Devil before it was officially called out. With the ball now in Razer's hands the four remaining players now had to prepare to deal with would be his last throw of the game, one way or another. In what seemed to be becoming a reoccurring theme Gon was the one to make up the plan to deal with his throw. It was rather silly all things considered and entailed the four of them "combining" to successfully block it, which caused a creepy glint in Hisoka's eyes and shudders to run down the two Zoldyck's spines. Still it was that or trying to dodge and no one wanted to accept such a win at this point.

Razer let them have their planning session, only attacking once they were done, which showed just how confident he was in his victory. He had good reason to as well which the group learned as he super charged the ball with his aura, bringing it up to a level past even Gon's last attack. Instead of throwing the ball however he went for a spike instead. It was a much more dangerous decision as the ball's force tripled as a result, which made the players glad that there were four of them still there, none of them believing they could take, or even dodge, Razer's latest attack with anything less. For the four's "combination" it was decided on Gon being the "arms" with Killua being his support and the "bridge" between him and Hisoka. Hisoka for his part would smother the ball's force with his Bungee gum while Harry act as the entire group's "legs". While the idea was a bit childish it actually ended up working as they managed to catch the ball without damage even though they got blown back nearly two meters.

With the ball now on their side it was time for the dodgeball game's climax. Killua instantly got into his stance, holding the ball up for Gon while Gon, for his part, somehow manage to draw upon twice as much aura as his previous attack despite his reduced reserves. This time he compressed his aura enough that it took on an orange tint, which was likely his natural aura color, due to the quality/density of it if Harry remembered Wing's lesson correctly. Harry felt a bit useless standing on the sidelines as he watched however, which he absolutely hated. He couldn't help Killua hold the ball or protect his hands due to how complex such a task would be and not having enough experience to get the timing right to do either. He couldn't help Gon with the actual attack either as he knew no way to transfer aura nor a way to add his own energy to the ball without blunting Gon's attack somehow. The fact left a rather bitter taste in his mouth but he quickly pushed the feeling aside as he watched his friend's and brother's will and resolve. Despite not liking it he wouldn't change anything, knowing it to be the best course of action and that it meant more to Gon and Killua than it did for him.

Gon attack, when he finally unleashed it, was absolutely brutal, even stronger than Razer's previous blow. Strong enough that even the Game Master himself seemed to feel the pressure from it. Without even hesitating Razer got into to his receiving stance, planning on dealing with the attack the same way he did last time. Shocking all those present it actually worked and the ball was sent screaming back down the court in a collision course with Gon, actually gaining some speed rather than losing any much to everyone's horror. Luckily Harry was waiting in the wings and managed to get his, now unconscious, friend out of harm's way, saving his life and leaving the ball to fly past into the waiting arms of Hisoka, who utilized his bungee gum to send the ball right back towards Razer. It looked like they were about to enter into a deadly game of ping pong at that point, up until Razer tried to return the ball and failed to do so thanks to Hisoka's Bungee Gum sticking the ball to Razer's arms. Razer made a valiant attempt to stop the ball but the momentum proved to be too much and Razer was forced out of the court.

They were quickly declared the victors after that and Razer wasted no time in answering Gon's question about Ging's whereabouts, once he woke up, before proceeding to tell him stories about the man. Harry wasn't sure what they were about as he respected Gon's privacy and instead opting to have his hands looked at along with his brother. As it turned out the damage, while extensive, would recover in a week or two but Killua's hands were much worse, it would be a month for a full recover at best, though he'd likely be able to use them in a reduced capacity in about half that time. Biscuit made sure to give them both an earful for that, even if they both could tell that their master was proud of them despite their decision.

Pretty soon Razer was done talking to Gon and the group returned back to their quest giver for the reward. With a quick use of Clone cards the group now had three copies of Patch of Shore, the original going to Gon and the two copies going to Tsezguerra and Goreinu. Hisoka declined any offers of compensation for his help, despite not getting a Copy of the Card, and promptly left (much to Harry's silent relief). Now Genthru was incapable of clearing the game without dealing with them first. A rather dangerous situation but there was nothing to really do about it unless they wanted him to win, which none of them did. The group left the lighthouse that the quest giver had lead them to after that, opting to walk rather than use a spell card so they could simply enjoy talking with each other.

The mood turned bad and extremely tense when they received a Call from the Bomber though, who (rather predictably) gave a blatant threat in an attempt to get them to hand over Patch of Shore. The threat by itself was slightly unnerving but it got worse after he revealed the death of all the other members of the previous party Harry's group had gone with. They hadn't been particularly close but despite that Gon took it personally and called out the Bomber to fight, much to Killua's, Harry's and Biscuit's anger. They loved Gon like a brother, they really did, but he was such a hardheaded idiot at times that Harry and Killua sometimes forgot that fact as they attempted to strangle him. The Call was cutoff at that point and thankfully the Bomber and his group decided against taking Gon up on his challenge. Biscuit was the only member of the party that was both uninjured and strong enough to deal with the Bomber's group at the moment after all. After that the group, bar Hisoka who had left long ago, started a strategy session on how to deal with the bomber.

It was likely that Gentrhu believed that Gon only had a Copy of Patch of Shore and would be going after Tsezguerra so the pro Hunter graciously made the decision to buy them time as a result. Well it was likely he had much choice in the matter anyways considering he'd die if Genthru caught him regardless but the gesture was nice none the less. Though the pro Hunter did decide to give Gon a thorough dressing down for his previous actions, which Harry approved of even if it bothered him to see his friend beat himself up once he realized the potential consequences of his impulsivity. Tsezguerra wasn't doing things completely out of the goodness in his heart however, as he offered to stall Genthru for three weeks at the price of their Lucky Alexandrite. It was a good deal as it would allow all of them to recover a significant portion of their strength and which gave them the possibly of defeating the Bomber so they decided to take the deal without any fuss. Once the deal was struck the parties went their separate ways and Biscuit wasted no time restarting the trio's training.

With Harry and Killua's hands still badly damaged they were forced to focus on recovering and coming up with plans to defeat Genthru's team, only allowed to do some intermittent light _Nen_ exercises in between their strategy sessions. It was rather annoying as they had to watch Biscuit train Gon into the ground every day but at least they weren't completely barred from training. In a normal situation they likely would have but Genthru was too much of a threat to do so, and it wasn't like basic _Nen_ exercises straining the body all that much anyways. Harry could even work on his _Hatsu_ occasionally thank to its nature, though Killua wasn't so lucky due to the electric burden his placed on his body not being good for injuries.

Not much interesting happened for the next two and a half weeks besides the group finally seeing Biscuit's _Hatsu_. Magical Esthetician was a combined _Hatsu_ that used the same three categories as Harry's Los Lobos, though it went in the opposite direction in terms of combat ability, which meant it had none. Cookie, as Biscuit called her _Nen_ construct, had zero ability to fight, instead possessing a very large range of support abilities useful for both general health and recovering from training as Gon quickly found out. Killua didn't think much of the technique but Harry thought it quite amazing and he made sure to study it constantly to take advantage of his Trait as the principles it used could only help improve his own ability. The going was slow, even a bit slower than trying to understand Hisoka's Bungee Gum, but Biscuit used it so often during those two and a half weeks that it didn't matter. In the end Harry knew everything about the base ability itself, though he barely knew anything about the techniques Cookie used beyond Piano Massage (which was the only one Biscuit showed them). He didn't care though as, like he had thought, his new knowledge helped him bump of Los Lobos by a level.

After those two and a half weeks though they had finally run out of time, Tsezguerra falling just a few days short of his goal of three weeks. It was a shame but Harry was at least fully recovered by that point and he and Killua had already completed their plan to deal with the Bomber and his gang. The plan would heavily really on Gon's efforts but with there being four of them at least he'd have Biscuit to back him up when he went against the Bomber, even if the stubborn fool was determined to beat him on his own. At least they had advanced warning thanks to Goreinu having been observing both Tsezguerra and the Bomber. Not long after Goreinu warned them about Genthru coming for them did the man with his in question arrive in the telltale light of Accompany, his two minions in tow.

The Bomber tried to talk them into making a deal but negotiations quickly broke down after he lost his patience with the group and their refusal to give in. With that the plan was a go and the group started a game of Accompany tag that ended with them near Masadora where the next stage was set to go off. The four were quick to hide in the forest using _Zetsu_ before the Bomber and his gang could appear, which worked surprisingly well as they tricked them into wasting time checking the spell card store, buying them enough time to complete their preparations. By the time Genthru used his last Accompany card to appear before them again they were ready though they continued to act like they were running away in fear.

The team was quickly cut off from running by the Bombers, Genthru stopping Gon and Biscuit, Killua the red haired man called Sub and Harry the black haired man named Bara. Genthru tried once more to pressure them into giving up their cards but Gon immediately shot him down, backed up by similar words from Biscuit. Killua then started the next phase of their plan by playing the part of the scared kid and telling Harry to run and leave Gon and Biscuit to their fates. He did so, after putting up his own scared kid routine, and like they had planned Bara chased after him and Sub chased Killua who was also running, leaving the other two to face the Bomber by themselves.

After being chased by Bara for a couple of minutes it was time for Harry to start his part of the plan. Summoning his Book, he took out a Transformed Accompany card and, after undoing the Transformation, used it on both himself and Bara to take them both to Soufrabi. This was the strategy that he and Killua had devised. He and Killua would draw away Sub and Bara from Genthru and, once they were far enough away, use Accompany to make sure that even if they were defeated that the two stooges wouldn't be able to return to aid Genthru against Gon and Biscuit. Neither had any plans on losing, or even running away from their opponents like they had told Biscuit they would, however.

"I don't get it. Why would you go to all this trouble to be alone with me?" Bara looked vaguely confused by Harry's actions as he voiced his question.

Harry just smirked. "It's simple, so you couldn't go get help your boss."

"Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about. Do you actually think you can beat me brat?"

"Of course."

"Tch. Don't be so full of yourself brat!"

With a cry of rage Bara, in a massive burst of speed, launched himself forward at Harry, intent on taking him down with a strong blow to the head to save on time. Luckily Harry was prepared and, with the help of his own physical abilities, managed to dodge with plenty of room to spare. Next time wouldn't be so easy as Bara had clearly underestimated him but it was enough for Harry to start his counter attack."

" **Los Lobos!** "

Without even landing from the backwards leap he took to dodge Bara's attack Harry activated his _Hatsu_ and, with angry growls, 10 ethereal green wolves sprung into existence around him. Thanks to Biscuit's training and his own efforts no longer were his wolves the size of small-medium dogs. Now not only were they all the size of real wolves, they even looked more like them as well, complete with "fur" and a row of razor sharp teeth. All the other aspects of the technique had improved as well as Harry could fully control/direct his wolves' actions in a ten-meter radius around him and the power released when they detonated was enough to crack small boulders. Needless to say Harry was very happy with his technique and wasted no time showing his opponent the fruits of his labors.

With but a thought Harry set his constructs to attack Bara and, like a pack of starving wolves, they launched themselves at the man with savage abandon. Bara wasn't a weak or inexperienced opponent however, not by a long shot, and was able to perfectly dodge all the attacking wolves. Harry's opponent was kept on the defensive despite that however as the man refused to take Harry seriously. That was fine by Harry as it let him set up the next part of his attack without getting interrupted.

"Pretty impressive for a brat but your technique still needs work kid."

"I know."

"Wha-?"

Bara didn't even have time to voice his confusion as Harry brought out his secret weapon. Whereas Killua showed a more childish side by having Milluki make him a Yo-Yo out of a super dense alloy metal to use as a weapon Harry was a bit more practical in his choice. Harry had asked for, and received, a pair of gloves that allowed him to manipulate monofilament garrote wire. Said wire was near invisible to the naked eye it was so thin, but it was strong enough to cut through flesh as easily as any knife. Harry made full use of these traits to slowly get the wires into position to surround Bara as he was distracted by his wolves.

With a sharp tug of his wrists the wires bound Bara in a cocoon of razor sharp wire, that was only kept from cutting him into dozens of meat chunks by his hastily activated _Ken_. Bara, realizing his new position, was quick to get serious and, using a combination of his full strength and even more _Ken,_ started to snap the wires binding him one by one.

That was fine, Harry didn't think they'd finish him off or even hold him for long anyways, that wasn't even their purpose. The purpose of his wires was simply to hold him just long enough for the real attack to land. Bara found that out the hard way as the ten wolves that he had previously been dodging with ease pounced on him in mass, their jaws clamping down on any part of his body they could, from his legs to even one on his neck. They didn't do more than cause some bruising thanks to Bara's aura, but then again his wolves were made to be explosive for a reason. With a bright flash and a clap of thunder Bara was engulfed in ten simultaneous _Nen_ fueled explosion.

Harry felt his wires go slack as the explosion finished the job that Bara started and completed the process of tearing them to pieces. He didn't mind as they were one off weapons anyways as they were much too difficult and impractical to use in combat anyways, especially at a speed capable of catching _Nen_ users who weren't distracted. Harry peeled of his gloves and threw them away as he waited for the smoke to clear and show him just how much damage he had caused. When that finally happened the results were less than he had expected but the damage was enough to finish Bara off regardless. In all honesty, despite it being kind of optimistic, he had expected the explosions to flat out kill Bara or, at the very least, take off a limb or two. As it was everywhere his wolves had been latch onto, except for Bara's neck, were badly mangled and looked like Killua's hands had after the match against Razer but, with _Nen_ and medical care, they would make a full recovery in time. Bara's neck, in comparison to the rest of the locations, only had a medium sized 2nd degree burn on it, the man having likely concentrated more aura to that location in order to save his life.

In total however, Bara was in no condition to move under his own power now even if he was conscious, which he wasn't. Harry was tempted to leave the man there, or even flat out kill him while he could, but in the end decided to follow the agreed upon plan and picked up him and began to walk the long road back to Gon's and Biscuit's location. When he arrived there he found Killua with his own defeated opponent already waiting for him, looking like he hadn't received a single scratch. Harry heaved a silent sigh of relief at that, though that lasted only as long as it took him to look at Gon. Gon… was a complete and utter mess. Not even counting the large number of burns and abrasions on his face and body he was missing his left hand while his right wrist was burned down nearly to the bone. If not for the fact that they could use Breath of Archangel to heal his wounds completely Harry would have killed Gentrhu then and there for doing that to his friend. As it was he simply gave the unconscious Bomber a nice kick to the balls as he dumped Bara down next to him.

Surprisingly enough that didn't wake the man up so the group was in for a rather long wait. Once Genthru finally did wake up however it was Killua who spoke to him first.

"Are you awake? Summon your binder."

Gon was quick to clarify what Killua wanted. "We want you to return the cards you stole from the people you backstabbed."

"…On one condition… Use Archangel to heal Bara. We have a Clone card." Genthru's voice was incredibly weak but surprisingly sturdy and calm despite his situation.

"Don't worry, that was always part of the plan. We brought 7 copies of Clone after all."

Harry decided to keep his thoughts of killing Bara to himself, no need to get his brother or Gon mad at him for almost going against the plan after all.

After a brief moment where Genthru tried to ascertain their truthfulness he finally complied with their demands. "…Book…"

With "the transaction" complete Biscuit was quick to use Breath of Archangel on Gon first, on account of him being the worst off and them caring about him more. The effect was quite miraculous as in an instant Gon's injuries, including his missing hand, were completely restored back to their uninjured state. The same thing happened to Bara, who was the worst injured amongst the bombers, when it was his turn. It was when they tried to heal Killua next, mostly because they could and his hands were still injured, that they ran into a problem when Goreinu blocked their attempts to Clone more Breath of Archangel cards.

The man was, understandably, pissed at their decision to heal the bombers and refused to complete their trade if they did so. If Harry was in charge he would have sided with him, but it wasn't his show and he had been outvoted so he kept quiet. Killua, after hearing Harry's objections towards sparing the bombers, had a plan of attack already in place for such an event. His plan was simple, he just pointed out that both he and Harry were assassins and Goreinu was perfectly willing to heal them. Harry hated being used in such a manner to let the Bomber be healed but in all honesty he agreed with his brother slightly on the matter. They were worse than the bombers if you actually thought about it after all, he and Killua had killed much more people and most of them weren't in a game known for its death toll. Hell some of their targets had even been innocent civilians, for a given definition of the term. It was kind of funny and made Harry just a little bit happy when Goreinu replied by saying that they were different from the bombers as he actually liked them. At least the man was honest about his bias unlike many others.

In the end Killua managed to bring him around to their way of thinking thanks to Biscuit and Gon further backing him up Zoldycks on the matter. There was a brief moment where Harry was put on the spotlight when Goreinu asked for his stance on the issue but Harry just kept to the party lines as it were and the moment passed. Beside it was one thing to kill an opponent in battle and another to do so after they had been beaten and captures, the two Zoldycks should know having done plenty of both. Not that Harry would have minded but it was one of the ways he had been talked into agreeing with the rest of his group. Goreinu was a good man so he too realized this and eventually gave in, allowing them to follow through with their plan to heal Gentrhu. After the Bomber was healed, it was Killua's turn after Goreinu guilt tripped himself into giving them another Archangel card, the four having had to use their original on Genthru.

Surprisingly enough that had been his plan all along anyways, and not just giving them a Breath of Archangel but all the other remaining Restricted Cards as well. Apparently Tsezguerra, his team and Goreinu himself had all agreed beforehand to give them the cards so they could beat the game, though only because their employer, Battera, ended all of his hired Hunter's contracts. As they got paid for his breach of the contract and there was no longer a large reward for clearing the game, beyond taking three items out of it, they decided to let their team do so, in light of the roll in defeating the Bomber. Goreinu once more proved to be a good guy by splitting the 4 billion Jenny he had personally received with them, Biscuit even cried as a result of his actions much to Harry's amusement.

After Gon put all 99 readily available Restricted Cards into his book a system announcement was triggered. As many of the long term players had thought, doing so trigged the event that enabled the players to obtain Ruler's Invitation, which would lead them to Restricted card #0. The event took the form of a Greed Island multiple choice quiz dealing information on all the Restricted Cards. The message had barely gone out however when the group was suddenly surrounded by players who had appeared in the telltale glow of Accompany. They all prepared for a fight, suspecting they were there to try and take their cards, but their worries ended up being unfounded. The players simply wanted to sell them card #0 if they managed to obtain it from the quiz. The price they wanted was expensive but only 5% of the reward money Battera had promised before he ended the contract so the group was quick to agree. They had the money for it after all despite the reward not existing anymore, and it wasn't like it was a bad deal all things considered.

The group split up after that, deciding to take the quiz individually as a mini competition between them, the losers of which had to face a penalty (likely a modified Biscuit Sadism Session™). The quiz was surprisingly difficult and, unless you really paid attention when you gathered the cards and possessed a great memory, all you could really do was randomly guess the answers for some of them. Harry and Killua had to do that several times but Gon was surprisingly very good at answering the questions or at least that's what it seemed like. When the results were tallied Gon had the highest score with 87 out of 100. None of the other players received their scores so they couldn't tell how close they had been to winning which was frustrating to the Zoldycks, especially on top of them having to face a penalty.

Ruler's Invitation appeared before Gon in the talons of a strange owl creature upon being declared the winner by the system. He barely had finished reading the "flavor text" before their group was confronted by two other Hunters trying to force them to have a contest with all their cards at stake. The two were a savage looking pair that had been hired at the same time as them but, unluckily for them, they were incredibly weak and the three youths easily beat them into unconsciousness. With that small bit of drama over with Killua activated a Drift card to get to Limeiro, where the Ruler's Invitation was supposed to be used at, as they had never been to the town before and it was the only spell that could take one of them there quickly. He was quick to return and use Accompany to take the group however, bar Goreinu, to complete the final "quest" of Greed Island.

As Ruler's Invitation only let one person, the owner of the card, enter the castle in Limeiro Harry, Killua and Biscuit had to kill time outside until he was done. When Gon came back and told them what happened none of them were disappointed about that though. Harry and Biscuit were kind of neat freaks and Killua didn't do well with large amounts of garbage after a certain assassination mission he had done when he was younger so none of them would have been able to stand talking to Dwun, who was the textbook definition of a lazy shut in and had a room to match. The following parade/celebration for clearing the game was nice though, even if it wasn't really Harry's thing. There was plenty of fireworks, food, drink and dancing late into the night. The party was still going on in fact even after the four turned in for the night to discuss the three cards they were going to take out of the game.

It was decided that they'd all get to choose a card, after Harry and Killua said they were fine with sharing their slot. Biscuit didn't even hesitate to choose hers, #81 Blue Plant, which wasn't a surprise considering her love of gems. Killua didn't really have an opinion on what card to choose and neither did Harry after being disappointed by Double Postcard of the Dead. Gon however had a very unique, and downright brilliant, idea of what to take for their reward. He wanted to bring out #84 Paladin's Necklace along with an Accompany Card Transformed into a Restricted Slot Card. It was brilliant as they could use Accompany to travel to Ging as he was actually listed in Gon's Contact list. The only problem was that it would require them to use the remaining two spots, thus would mean that Harry and Killua give up on their own choice. Gon was apologetic about it but both of the Zoldycks were willing to go along with his plan, neither having any desire for the other items on offer anyways.

When they left the game the next morning everyone was happy with their rewards. Biscuit wasted absolutely no time in bringing out Blue Planet and fawning all over it, leaving the other three to feel incredibly awkward and Harry having to resist making more than a few snarky comments. After she had calmed down it was time for the trio to bring out their cards and see if their plan had worked. Paladin's Necklace was first and, once Gon was wearing it, the Transformed Accompany was next. Like they had hoped Paladin's Necklace quickly dispelled the Transformation and, after a brief round of celebration and saying their goodbyes to Biscuit the trio activated the card, whisking them away to parts unknown in pursuit of Gon's wayward father.

 **AN: Harry's fight with Bara was short but honestly if you remember the anime Killua's fight against Sub was really short as well so I didn't see a reason to prolong it. It was much longer than when Biscuit completed face rolled him however so there's that. Yes, I did take inspiration from (more like ripped off) Bleach for Harry's Nen ability and no that's not won't be all there is too it. Anyways hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **-Monumentum.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here's chapter four, covering the Chimera Ant saga and nothing else. This is also the last fully written chapter I have left, the next one is still being written so I'm unsure when it will be up. For those new people who followed/favorited/reviewed, thanks a bunch, I appreciate it. Now on to the story.**

When the light of Accompany faded and they arrived at their destination the young trio were greeted by a forest and lake covered in a thick fog. Nearby was a man fishing under a Sakura tree, who, if Accompany worked correctly, was Ging. Unfortunately, it did not work correctly. As soon as Gon took a step forward the man suddenly appeared right in front of them and knocked them all to the ground. After that he summoned his _Hatsu_ , a talking clown slot machine thing with an annoying voice that turned into a gun made out of _Nen_ , which the man used to shoot at Gon. Killua was quick to tackle Gon into safety but Harry didn't react, as he noticed that the man wasn't aiming at Gon himself, only the area near him.

"Are you hurt?"

Harry wasn't sure if it was intentional or not but the man made a rather dramatic entrance as he walked through the fog and threw off his long coat/robe. The man was tall, with long silver hair that went down to his waist, calm silver eyes and was wearing a long sleeved white turtleneck, black pants and a light blue sash along his waist.

"That isn't Ging…"

Harry nearly cringed at the disappointment that was thick in his friend's voice.

"Hey…What was that about!? First you push us down, then you fire at us! Enough fooling around!"

Harry was quick to calm his brother down. "Killua stop it. He wasn't firing at us, he was firing at that ant colony for some reason, right?"

The man gave Harry an appraising look as he gave a shallow nod. "Correct. If I hadn't opened fire you would have been attacked."

"By what!? Those ants you shot?" Killua obviously didn't believe that the ants could prove to be dangerous and he tried to show as much when he tried to stomp one into paste. Harry however wasn't so quick to dismiss the man's claims. You don't shoot a simple ant hill with _Nen_ bullets after all. He wasn't in a position to stop Killua however and his brother quickly learned the error of his belief as one of the "dead" ants, that was little more than a head at this point, launched itself into Killua's leg and latch on with crushing force. Killua tried to rip it off but was once more knocked to the ground for his troubles.

"You fool!" With a simple smack of the stranger's cap the ant head was knocked off Killua's leg, leaving behind two bleeding puncture wounds, after which he proceeded to shoot the ant head with his still active _Nen_ gun. "That's no ordinary ant. It's a Chimera Ant."

"A Chimera Ant?" Harry had never heard of that species before. "What's that?"

"An aggressive, carnivorous insect currently under a class-1 quarantine. From time to time they even attack humans. You were stranding right in front of their nest and had I not fired a Chimera Ant army would have consumed you by now." The stranger's face was grim as he gave his explanation.

"…I feel like this has happened before…" Gon's quiet words drew the attention of the two Zoldycks briefly before they once again focused on the stranger, who had approached Killua by the point to administer medical treatment.

Killua was naturally wary but the stranger was quick to put him at ease. "Don't worry, it's not serious. Apply this, it's antibiotic."

"What's this boring shit? Let's go nuts man!" The voice of the man's weapon was high pitched and aggressive but the man didn't react beyond simply dismissing it.

"Shut up… Go away."

Harry wondered if it was a sign of insanity to talk to a _Nen_ construct, even if it had the ability to talk back. They were, after all, merely a person's aura given form. Then again Harry's Trait was having trouble activating whenever he looked at it, only giving him random scraps of info at a time, so maybe it was more than it seemed.

"You should leave as well." The stranger got up at this point and started walking away. "Damn it… because of this interruption I'll need to start over… But the nest was destroyed. Man, forced to take another life…"

"Ah!" Gon's loud exclamation drew the attention of the two Zoldycks and even caused the retreating form of the strange man to stop walking. "Are you… Are you the one who saved me back then?"

"back then?" The stranger looked at Gon in confusion.

"On Whale Island after I stumbled into the territory of a foxbear with its cub."

"Whale Island?"

"That time too you had to kill in order to protect me."

The man's eye grew distant as he searched his memory for a few seconds before they lit up in recognition. "Oh yes. I remember now. I never expected to run into you again. You've grown, Gon."

"Huh? How do you know my name?"

"I heard it from your dad, Ging."

Killua couldn't help but voice his surprise. "You know Ging old man?"

"Old… *sigh*… Yeah, my name is Kite. Ging was my master."

With that startling revelation Kite stopped walking away and instead helped the trio up before turning to set up a camp nearby. As their food cooked over a campfire the three told Kite a bit about themselves as a way of introduction.

"Oh? So you're also pro Hunters?"

"Yep! Are you one to Mr. Kite?" Gon asked with clear curiosity in his voice.

"Call me Kite, it's awkward being addressed formally by my master's son."

Gon quickly accepted the change of address with a happy nod. "Okay. Then you're one to, Kite?"

"Yeah, Ging was the one who made me a top-class Hunter. He was both my teacher and my benefactor. If I hadn't met Ging, I'd have died long ago in the alley of a slum." It was clear to the trio that Kite really respected Gon's father and looked back on his interactions with the man with a sense of fondness just based on his tone of voice. Kite proceeded to give them the tale of how he first met Ging, which was a rather humorous tale that stared with Kite using animals to dump trash on the people he stole from and ended with Kite walking into the sewers where he found Ging being cuddled by a Horse and a pair of dogs.

"That was how you met Ging?" Killua's tone was incredulous. Harry didn't blame him; it did sound a bit ridiculous after all.

Kite paid no attention to Killua's disbelief and calmly answered his question. "Yeah, Ging said that good Hunters are well-liked by animals. He said I had potential so I got interested."

"And after that you became his student?"

Kite chuckled lightly before replying. "I actually had to force him to teach me, he hated dealing with any kind of hassle…So I was never officially his student. But I was a stubborn one and I kept bugging him. Eventually, I started to develop my _Nen_ and he began teaching me to hunt. As a result, I was able to pass the Hunter Exam with little difficulty. But before Gin was satisfied, I had to clear another hurdle. Can you guess what it was?"

Gon hesitated briefly before speaking up. "…I think I might know."

"Oh?"

"No, I definitely know. This is what Ging would have said… 'Try to catch me.'"

Kite gave a smirk. "Exactly. You're right."

Gon gave a massive grin in reply. "I knew it! I figured that's what it was."

"mhm. But, as far as I knew, he was the world's greatest Hunter so it was going to be the most difficult hunt ever. There were no clues or leads to begin from, and I didn't hear word of a single sighting. He managed to completely erase his existence from this world."

"So what happened in the end?"

"I was struggling and grasping for a single clue, so I went to his home. To Whale Island. That was when I met you, Gon. But, back then, I didn't realize that you were Ging's son. I didn't learn that until I finally found him and told him about what happened on Whale Island."

"You actually managed to find him!?" Harry couldn't help but cry out in shock.

"Yeah. And Ging wasn't surprised that I went to Whale Island or that I met you there. It was almost as though he'd expected it. Looking back at it, it may be that everything's gone according to Ging's plans."

"Are you saying he set all this up?" Killua voiced cautiously.

Kite shrugged. "Well I can't prove it."

The lack of proof didn't seem to deter Gon as he seemed to agree with the Pro-Hunter. "It makes sense. Razer was waiting for me. Dwun and List too."

"Razer? Dwun?" Kite asked curiously.

"Yeah, in a game called Greed Island, it's a long story." Kite just gave Gon a look that made it clear he wanted to hear the full story at some point but he didn't push the topic for now, curious to know the rest of Gon's thoughts. "In the game a guy named Razer was waiting for me at Ging's request. He was a criminal that Ging freed to become a game master. He, along with Dwun and List, were among Ging's ten friends who helped him create Greed Island. Those three were all waiting for me. When I learned that I realized something, if Ging planned for me to go to Greed Island and meet his friends, meeting Biscuit and the others may have been another part of his plan."

"In that case, it's possible that Ging also planned that you'd meet Kite here." Killua tacked on his addition to Gon's theory.

Harry was a bit doubtful about the whole thing. "It's plausible but it seems incredibly hard to pull off. At least us running into the specific people that we did any ways. Though he definitely is the reason why we met Kite, otherwise why else would Accompany take us here."

At Harry's reminder Gon spoke up in surprise. "Ah! That's right! You must have been to Greed Island before."

"Me?" Kite didn't seem to know what Gon was talking about.

Undeterred Gon continued speaking. "Yeah, did you register under the name Nigg?"

"Nigg? No, I don't recall that name. Wait… I do remember Ging taking me inside a game…" Kite trailed off at that point as old memories started popping up at Gon's prompting.

"I knew it!" Gon cried out happily.

"Greed Island… yes I believe that was its title. But I can't remember if I used an alias."

"That must be it. Ging must have had you use the name Nigg. Damn! He tricked me!" Gon started rolling around in frustration, annoyed that his old man got one over on him.

"You were so sure you'd meet him huh?"

"Man your dad is kind of an asshole Gon."

After that the trio gave kite an overview of Greed Island and their adventures on it, from meeting Biscuit to their fight with their Bomber. The even included their thoughts and theories about why it was made.

Kite turned contemplative after they finished their tale. "I see, so the game Greed Island was created to train you boys."

Killua shrugged. "Only Gon really. Me and Harry just tagged along for the ride."

"That may have been part of Ging's plan too." Gon voiced his opinion on the matter.

Harry though instantly denied the possibility. "I doubt it Gon, planning for you to find two friends your age that knew _Nen_ is just a bit farfetched. Him believing that you would be able to find a way to get three players into Greed Island is more of a possibility but even that it is unlikely."

Killua spoke up at that point. "However… it appears that our meeting here wasn't coincidence."

Harry nodded his head. "Yeah I agree, there must be a deeper meaning behind this."

"Meaning?" Gon just looked confused.

Killua decided, after a brief moment of hesitation, to make his suspicion known. "Razer waited inside the game to make you stronger. So one would think Ging must have some role for Kite to play."

"A role…" Kite seemed to fall deep into thought.

"Your final test was finding Ging right?"

Kite nodded "Yeah that's correct."

"That sounds like a daunting task. The best Hunters in the world are masters of not only hunting, but concealing themselves as well. Yet you were able to find him."

"Oh, that's true." Kite seemed to get where Killua was going at this point.

"Once you cleared your final test Ging must have decided you were worthy of handling this, whatever this is."

Kite paused for a moment before giving asking a casually voiced question. "… Say, Gon. Want me to tell you Gin's current whereabouts?"

Gon hesitated for a few moments before he slowly shook his head in the negative. "… No. I'll find him on my own."

Kite gave a slight smile. "…A good response."

Gon decided to change the subject at this point. "Anyway, tell me about Ging. Tell me everything you know! Please!"

Kite let out a laugh at Gon's enthusiasm before proceeding to launch into tales of Gon's father. He talked a bit about his own training, the few adventures they shared and a wide array of basic (and non-basic) information about his Hunter career. It was fascinating even though some of the things Ging did confused the trio.

"Breeding two-headed wolves? Ging is involved in that stuff?" Killua couldn't wrap his head around that.

"Sure, Ging is involved with a wide range of Hunter activities. He's never formally applied because he doesn't want to expend the energy but he's as qualified as a Triple Star Hunter."

"Triple Star Hunter?" Harry had never heard of the term before, and neither had Gon or Killua judging by the confusion showing on their faces.

"Stars are awarded to Hunters who perform extraordinary tasks. Those responsible for historical discoveries or global achievements receive three stars. There are fewer than ten of these Hunters in the world. The title 'Triple Star Hunter' is reserved for the very best."

"So Ging is as good as the best!?"

"Of Course, and he even ranks near the very top. Ging is also famous for discovering the Lurka Ruins and the Kongo gold vein."

"Oh, I've heard of the Lurka Ruins!"

For the rest of the night Kite told stories of Ging's various achievements which Gon lapped up like candy. The two Zoldycks enjoyed the stories quite a bit as well but they were happier that Gon learning about his father rather than how interesting the story was. When morning came Kite had finally run out of stories to tell and Gon took that chance to ask about Kite's own work as a Hunter. Kite, as it turned out, was into biological surveying, meaning he focused on discovering and researching new species. One of his discoveries was the Camp Tiger, a large cat species that actively used fire and ate their meat cooked instead of raw. It was impressive though the discussion inevitably segued into questions on Chimera Ants after that. Apparently the insects were so dangerous no one was allowed near them, hence the class-1 quarantine. Despite that however, Kite was currently investigating the species, which was why the trio appeared right on top of one of their ant hills.

Kite offered no further information about the insects however, despite the trio's curiosity, instead opting to wait for his seven-man team to arrive so he could introduce them to the boys. Only four showed up however, a lanky white man with a brown afro, an attractive woman who possessed long pink hair and blue eyes, a large bulky man who's face and hair made him look like a bear and a smaller woman with short cut orange hair. All of them turned out to be amateur Hunters.

The woman with pink hair was the first to introduce herself and was called Spinner "Spin" Clow. Gon was quick to return the courtesy and Kite's team were surprised, to say the least, to meet Ging's son. When it was Harry's and Killua's turn to introduce themselves the lively mood turned tense, all of them evidently recognizing the Zoldyck name. Their admission of quitting the family business and Kite's outing them as pro Hunters smoothed things over luckily and they quickly continued the introductions.

The bear looking man introduced himself as Monta "Mon" Yuras, the one with the afro was Stick Dinner and the other woman was Banana Kavaro. There were two others called Pdungo and Lin who weren't there as they were already heading towards the groups next location. Mon took the opportunity to pull out a very large Chimera Ant claw he kept in a glass bottle, the appearance of which instantly setting the trio on edge and causing Kite to adopt the same serious expression he had when he saved them from the ant hill yesterday. The trio didn't blame him as the claw was the size of a human finger, which meant the ant it came from had to be absolutely huge in size. According to Kite, when they asked about it, that claw was the reason for their investigation as it was pointed out by an official of the Kakin Empire after his group completed a previous job for them.

When Kite made to leave so he could catch up with the last two members of his team, and hopefully find another lead on the possible giant Chimera Ant, Gon was quick to ask if they could go with him. Kite saw no problem with that and neither did his team so they were able to head out with little fuss. Gon took no time at all to befriend the group with his usual blend of charisma, childish naivety and sheer likeability, though Harry and Killua didn't face as easy a time due to their more introverted personalities.

The trip down from Kakin, where the group was at, to Yorknew, where the last two members of Kite's group were located, was long and was mostly spent speculating as to the nature of the possible Chimera Ant and how it evolved. Said conversation brought up some very interesting information about the species, namely their unique method of reproduction. Chimera Ants, as it turns out, reproduce through a special process known as phagogensis, which enabled a Chimera Ant Queen to pass down traits from organisms she devours to the next generation. For instance, if the Queen ate a praying mantis then her offspring would have their claws (if she so chooses). The process even worked with multiple different species at the same time, hence the Chimera part of their name.

Like most insect species the Queen's offspring have no reproductive ability and are either worker or soldier ants that serve the Queen and her successors. The only exception are the King and Queen of the next generation, of which each Queen can only make one of. What makes Chimera Ants so scary is that the Queens are compelled to hunt for strong genes and, as a result, will hunt any species they particular like to extinction if given the opportunity. That fact plus the existence of the claw that Kite and his team found (which was estimated to belonging to a creature roughly 2 meters in size) made for some very disturbing theories. A queen that size could easily devour a human after all. Which was the reason Kite was investigating in the first place.

When they arrived in Yorknew the next day the trio were introduced to the last two members of Kit's team, Lin Koshi, a very short man with glasses and buck teeth, and Podungo Lapoy, an even short woman with dark skin and silver hair. After pleasantries were observed the group moved on to more important tasks, mainly investigating the area the Chimera Ant leg was found, which was a patch of shore well outside the city limits.

Their investigation didn't turn anything up at first and the group was forced to rely on the team's dog (and 7th member of Kite's team) and Gon, who was basically a dog in human form, which was funny to watch. Even then however, nothing was found and the group had to come to the conclusion the Chimera Ant wasn't there. Their next avenue of searching was to spread out and find other potential locations nearby that the ant could have washed ashore at, which was incredibly complicated due to the random nature of the local currents. After a full day of searching they were still unable to find anything and the group decided to return to Yorknew for the night rather than continue searching blindly.

The next day they concentrated on looking for reports of a large number of missing villages/towns and sightings of a massive size nest. The idea was that a 2-meter-tall Chimera Ant Queen with a potential taste for human flesh would have a truly voracious appetite, like all Chimera Ants, and thus would empty out entire communities of people in order to sate her cravings. It made sense but they couldn't find anything, even going as far back as 6 months in the past, which lead the group to one of two conclusions. Either the ant was dead or it was in a location that news wouldn't, or couldn't, get out of. As none of them were optimists the latter was obviously what chose to believe. Kite, after looking over the data where the currents could have taken the arm from, managed to find one such place. The most likely location that the arm came from was the Balsa Islands, which included the Mitene Union, where the NGL autonomous region and East Gorteau were located.

Both locations were areas that no information would get out from, making them prime suspects for the location of the Chimera Ant. NGL, which stood for Neo-Green Life, was a country founded by people who wanted to live in nature away from machine civilization. Essentially the people lived rural lives with no access to technology, which meant any information was generally passed by letter or word of mouth and, since their primary means of transportation is by horse, any news is slow to spread. As the area was well known for an incident with a deadly epidemic where the people did nothing about, Kite was betting his money on there. East Gorteau on the other hand had technology (including weapons) and, while an extremely oppressive dictatorship, would likely ask for aid in the off chance they couldn't deal with problem. Hence why NGL was the most likely location.

With their destination decided upon the four pro Hunters booked tickets to the Mitene Union, with plans on traveling over land to NGL's border. Kite's team was also planning on traveling with them despite the risks and Kite made sure to tell the three that his team was his priority and wouldn't protect them. None of the trio were surprised, and even found it funny that Kite waited until they were at the airship port to give them that warning. That being said all three of them knew how dangerous the situation could become, especially since Kite himself brought up that he might die and that they should run if he got into conflict. They weren't planning on following that order, but it certainly caused them to feel the tension and to understand how serious the threat of the Chimera Ants really was.

The group spent the next couple days traveling to NGL from the Mitene Union, once their airship arrived after a full day of flying of course. The driver of the truck they had rented ended up providing useful information when they drew near to NGL's border. Apparently ten other groups had arrived before them with the same goal in mind, which was a bad sign as it meant something had drawn the other pro Hunter teams here and there was only one thing that could be. The rest of their remaining trip passed in silence after that, no one willing to voice their concerns about the matter.

The border of NGL turned out to be a pair of massive trees, which doubled as both the checkpoint and embassy to the country. Thanks to four of them being pro Hunters gaining entry to the country was relatively easy, as they couldn't be denied access due to the international treaties Hunters fell under. Of course just because they couldn't be denied entry didn't mean they were exempt from the countries rules, which meant they couldn't bring in or wear anything metal, plastic, synthetic or artificially made into the country. That also included any implants in the body as well, like plastic surgery, filled cavities and the like that couldn't be removed. Those little stipulations resulted in the majority of Kite's team having to stay behind, with only the four pro Hunters, Dinner and Lapoy remaining. Everyone bar Kite also had to buy "natural" clothes from the embassy's shop though due to the synthetic material they were made from, which was a rather clever, if annoying, money making scheme in Harry's mind.

Dinner picked out a light pink tinted robe and pants with a black belt that looked like a martial arts Gi. Lapoy had a purple and light violet colored dress similar in appearance to those worn by deep forest aboriginal tribes. Gon wore a white tank top shirt and light green pants held up by a black belt while Killua had a dark blue turtleneck with white pants also held up by a black belt. Harry for his part wore a black turtleneck and pants with a dark green belt to hold them up. All in all, it cost them nearly 5,000 Jenny each for their outfits, a total rip off even though that amount of money was but a drop in the bucket for all of them.

After that Kite informed the team members staying behind to stay in the nearby town (which was roughly 8 hours away by vehicle), with orders to wait for him to contact them in two weeks' time. Once they were gone the six remaining hunters proceeded through the checkpoint and, after going through a series of tests including a physical exam, interview, metal detector, MRI, x-ray and an ultrasound, were finally allowed into NGL. It seemed extremely paranoid and was rather inconvenient to Harry but there was nothing that could be done about it.

From there they got their first glimpse at NGL. Harry didn't think it was much when they exited the embassy onto an arid plain. The only thing for kilometers in either direction was dust and a tall rock wall, though if one looked carefully they could see the small tips of lush green trees peaking over them. Once the group were done taking in the view they moved on to a nearby horse rental building to get some horses. It cost 12,000 Jenny per day to rent out a single horse but luckily Lapoy was tiny and Gon, Killua and Harry were all kids so they managed to get by with three horses, 2 people sharing each one, so it wasn't as extreme a waste of money.

When asked, the ambassador at the NGL border had heard nothing about giant insect sightings, or even really cared if giant insects actually existed, so the group had no clues to go on in their hunt. As a result, they went for something simple, namely making a circuit of the country and checking all the listed villages near the coast. It was annoying, especially since they had picked up a pair of "negotiators/interpreters" (which was the diplomatic way of saying they were spies) ever since they left the border, but there was nothing for it so the group simply soldiered on. They couldn't ignore the potential Chimera Ant threat even if they wanted to so complaining was pointless after all. At least Kite was certain they would find their target here though, having a gut instinct that none of them doubted as they all felt varying degrees of unease ever since entering the country as well.

The first few villages they hit were a bust, not showing anything out of the ordinary and with no sightings of giant bugs. It was when they were on the way to their next stop, roughly 3 hours after they first entered NGL, that something changed. That something was a note written in blood carried by hornets. The message was simple "Help! Chimera Ant Nest. Rocky Area. Notify Hunter Association" along with a crude map with the sender's location but it was enough to know things weren't looking good and none of them liked the implications of the note. Kite, after thinking over the letter for a few moments, asked the trio of younger hunters for help (formally this time), to which they naturally agreed to. With mutual understanding the four pro Hunters decided to ditch their horses as the animals would be slower than them simply running on foot for all of them and speed was of the essence. Before they took off however, Kite sent Dinner and Lapoy back to the border and the rest of the team, with orders to contact the Association for backup as soon as they arrived.

Disappearing in clouds of dust the group of four pro Hunters, running at their top speed, quickly arrived at the location of the notes sender but unfortunately they were too late. All that remained of the poor soul was a bloody smear on the ground and the tattered remains of their clothes. They didn't leave things at that of course so during their inspection of the sight Killua was able to find a bullet casing on the ground, which gave the Hunters a potential lead despite the unpleasant implications of the bullet casing being there. The implication was that Chimera Ants were able to use guns as no Hunter used the weapons and there were no other corpses nearby. What was worse was that the guns were likely obtained from the underground rulers of NGL, a criminal drug distribution group. That didn't bode well as that likely meant the entire organization had been fed to the Queen, providing the ants with their genes in the process. With no other clues nearby the four Hunters moved on from the location, searching the nearby area for any hint of the Chimera Ant nest or the base of NGLs underground.

They didn't have any luck in the nearby area so they soon branched further out and, after searching for a few hours, they were finally able to stumble on to another clue, or rather blatant evidence, that the Chimera Ants existed and were nearby. Said "clue" was a living human sized Chimera Ant itself, complete with multiple animal traits and the ability to speak and understand human language. If it wasn't such a bad omen, and if the creature wasn't projecting such an ominous presence, Harry would have been tempted to laugh at its appearance. The Chimera Ant had green hair, whiskers, rabbit ears, rabbit legs, some kind of bird wings for arms and a black speedo so he thought it was an understandable thought. Harry did idly wonder if the speedo meant the ant had junk though and, if so, if that made him the Chimera Ant King, but didn't want to know enough to find out at the moment.

The group got into a brief stare off with the creature, during which they all went over the implications that they couldn't feel its presence even when looking right at it. It was almost as if it was using _Zetsu_ , which was more than a little unnerving. The creature was the first to break the silent confrontation as it raised its arm/wing to point at the four Hunters, rage clearly visible on its too human face.

"Trash! Those are mine!"

Harry assumed the creature was talking about the horses it had impaled on nearby trees and spare a brief glance backwards to check. Of course that was a bit of a mistake as the creature didn't remain idle and used that brief window of inattention to launch itself at Kite. Luckily the pro-Hunter easily dodged out of the way before he reached him though that left the ant to switch targets to the three younger hunters instead. Harry managed to dodge out of the way despite his previous mistake thanks to being on the outside of the group while Gon and Killua were forced to black the ant's punches when they couldn't. The blows turned out to be incredibly strong judging by the two's expression and the slight shaking in their arms.

As the two recovered Kite spied his aura, drawing the creature's attention to him while Harry, now fully in battle mode, erased his presence and prepared for an opening in which to strike. To Harry's surprise however, Kite, instead of attacking the Chimera Ant like he thought he would, calmly walked to a nearby tree and promptly sat down after Killua and Gon had gotten into their own ready stances. The move surprised everyone actually, including the creature, which was a shame as it would have been a perfect opportunity for Harry to strike were it not for his surprise stopping him from taking advantage of the opening.

"Gon, Killua, Harry, you three must deal with him yourselves. That is a Chimera Ant soldier, we will encounter many more like him and I won't be able to help you during combat. If you can't defeat it, you'll have to leave… You'll just be in the way." Kite's words easily provoked the three young boys, causing them to activate their _Ren_ , even Harry as he gave up on the idea of an ambush and moved to stand with his brother and friend in favor of showing Kite his strength in full on combat and prove he belonged here.

"Didn't we tell you Kite?"

"We are also pros!"

"And we won't back down!"

The three young Hunters calmly walked towards their prey after speaking their words.

"""Don't treat us like Kids!"""

In a burst of speed, the trio went from a slow walking speed to a blindly fast frontal assault on the Chimera Ant. Killua reach him first and launched a kick to its face, which it managed to block with its raised arm with some effort before it proceeded to launch him away. Gon followed up immediately after that with an attempt to punch the creature in the stomach but was knocked away before he could land the hit. Harry then took the opportunity where the creature was slightly off balance to launch a stab with his fingers towards were the left kidney would be located on a normal human. The Chimera Ant was able to dodge just before it could land however and Harry was forced to block the strong side kick it launched in relation.

Killua, who had recovered by that point, launched himself back at the Chimera Ant before it could take advantage of Harry's vulnerability in the air to land an attack and succeeded in doing so. The young former assassin launching into a quick combo of jabs and kicks that the creature readily blocked until Gon reentered the field with lunging punch to the creature's back. The ant dodged the blow, despite it coming from its blind spot, and dealt a brutal counter into Gon's spine that succeeded in knocking the wind out of him, after which it immediately turned on Killua and kicked him away. Harry, who had landed by that point, went back in for the attack in an effort to give Gon and Killua a chance to recover like they had for him. This time he went for the same tactic as Killua and used a blistering combo of punches and kicks to distract it long enough for the others to re-enter the fray. Like his brother all of Harry's blows were blocked but that didn't matter as his distraction succeeded in its goal. Gon was now back on his feet and Killua was reading an attack using his _Hatsu_. Carefully judging the timing Harry leaped back a split second before Killua lunched a literal Thunderbolt, made out of _Nen,_ at the creature.

For the first time one of their attacks landed on the Chimera Ant without being blocked and, thanks to its electric nature, managed to paralyze it, leaving it open for even more attacks to lang. Harry wasted no time summoning up his ten wolves and siccing them on the Chimera Ant while Gon charged up the Rock variation of his _Hatsu_. As Gon's ability took time to charge Harry's attack obviously landed first, all ten of the wolves latching on to his legs (5 of them per) in the interest of taking the creature's ability to move if it somehow recovered from the paralysis before Gon was finished his attack. With a large explosion, that Gon didn't seem to notice due to his concentration, the Chimera Ant was engulfed in _Nen_ "fire and smoke shielding it from view for a brief moment. The smoke didn't last long however before dispersing thanks to the pressure exerted by Gon's aura, revealing the bloodied (though surprisingly still fully intact) form of the rabbit themed Chimera Ant. Its toughness was startling but Harry had no time to think about the implications as Gon was done charging his Rock, which he wasted no time launching right into the creature's stomach, blowing it high into the sky. The three were prepared to finish it off once it landed but, before it even reached the zenith of its arc, it was picked up by another Chimera Ant, this one possessing the ability to fly.

"RRRRAGGGHHHH! BASTARDS! I'M GONNA EAT YOU! I WILL REMEMBER THIS!"

Shockingly not only was the creature not dead it was even still conscious after taking all their attacks, and possessed enough remained strength to shout loud enough to cause a strong air current nearby. The three young hunters took that badly, as that meant that their attacks were too weak despite the effort they had put into making them and that now the Chimera Ant knew they were coming.

Kite didn't judge the youths at all and simply spoke in a calm voice. "That guy's smart. He let his soldier do the fighting so he could learn our abilities." None of the three responded, too caught up in their own thoughts on the battle, at least until Kite spoke up once more. "You coming? There's no need to feel down. Your attacks weren't that bad. You just need experience now. If you wish to become stronger, this is a perfect opportunity. But, if you aren't prepared, you won't be able to endure the ordeal. Whether we win or lose… hell lies ahead of us."

"…We're coming."

"Yeah."

"I won't back down."

None of them would back down, not now and not ever. This was too important to simply run away and the three wouldn't abandon Kite to fight the Chimera Ants on his own. Kite regarded them coolly for a moment, judging them, determining the strength of their conviction before finding what he needed. Without another word he turned around and the group resumed looking for more Chimera Ants as well as the location of their nest.

Despite traveling in the same direction as the Chimera Ants had retreated too night had fallen by the time they found anything. What they found were the bodies of a large number of humans in the possession of guns and nearby, hidden along the canyon walls, several artificial lights faintly shone, indicating the existence of the NGL's underground's base. With all the corpses it was a fair bet that the Chimera Ants were involved, even if the fact that they hadn't been taken as food was odd, so the group decided to check out the interior of the base for their presence. Like the surrounding area the caverns were filled with corpses so the four were constantly on guard for a potential attack, especially given that most of them were still fresh.

As the group went deeper into the mountain side, passing more and more side chambers full of bodies, they eventually came across a larger cavern with drug making facilities. It was there that they finally ran into the Chimera Ants, Kite having heard them approach from the nearby tunnel. The group, in silent agreement with each other, decided to walk towards the sound and they eventually came into another chamber, this time with three hallways leading out. Now all of them could hear the approach of the ants and the sound was coming middle of three tunnels.

The first thing that came out of the tunnel however was not what they were expecting. While a Chimera Ant was there, in the form of a centaur-esk creature, what was moving in front of it was far more disturbing. The Chimera Ant apparently decided to have some fun and turn two humans into its pets, dogs to be specific. It was disturbing and Harry could tell just by looking those two were completely broken and even if they lived would never fully recover their minds.

"Keep it down you two… Huh? Who are you guys? How dare you intrude on my turf?" The creature's voice was filled with a sense of malice and arrogance that practically screamed that he saw them as less than even the dirt he walked on. Harry hated him instantly.

"Help… Please help us!" Surprisingly enough, one of the two human pets was actually still sane enough to ask for help from the Hunters. Unfortunately, he was rewarded for his desperate plea with death from his so called "owner".

"Stop talking Spot! You're just a damned dog!" With a stomp of its front hoof the Chimera Ant shattered "Spot's" head into paste. "…Oops, didn't mean to do that hahaha... Oh well. I'm getting bored with these guys anyways. Guess I'll get rid of Rover too."

The surviving human pet, upon hearing his "owners" cruel words and sadistic expression, desperately begged like the dog he was forced to become for the creature to spare his life. It was sickening.

If anything "Rover's" desperate pleading only seemed to increase the sadistic creature's killing intent further. "Ahhh, when you beg like that I just want to kill you more hahahaha."

"Stop!" Gon couldn't take watching anymore and tried to prevent the Chimera Ant from killing the human. Luckily Kite stopped him from running off half-cocked otherwise he might have gotten himself killed though Gon didn't seem to think so judging by his expression.

"Kite…"

"Don't move carelessly. There's more than one enemy. They want you to rush over."

Just as Kite said there were two more Chimera Ants nearby and, now knowing they had been found out, both decided to fully show themselves from their hiding spots in the remaining tunnels. The one coming from the left tunnel was a female, or at least was based on the female form, and reminded Harry of a mosquito complete with her face covered in a medical mask, lanky insectoid arms, gangly legs and delicate gossamer wings. The one on the right a tall lanky "male" that definitely had millipede or centipede genes judging by the large amount of arms he possessed. The only similarities they shared was that they were both laughing sadistically as they watched the first Chimera Ant crush "Rover's" head the same way he had "Spot's". Gon flinched at the sight and turned his head, unwilling to watch the man die such a horrible death.

"Don't turn away! If they shoot a projectile your way you won't be able to see it." Kite's words cold and harsh but unfortunately necessary. Thankfully Gon complied and turned to face the Chimera Ants once more.

The centaur ant after reveling in the sensation of killing his last pet for a few seconds, suddenly turned his sadistic gaze towards the four humans. "I've got it! You four will be my new dogs."

Kite frown imperceptibly at the creature's words. "…Chimera Ants have always been aggressive, but it seems consuming malicious humans has made them even more evil."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Gon asked, his voice curious despite the hard edge to it.

"Phagogenesis." Was Killua's answer. "The Queen likely passed down the extra aggressiveness and lack of empathy from some of the humans she consumed."

Kite and Harry nodded while Gon looked suitably horrified by the thought.

"If we don't deal with them here, many more will die! Don't falter!" In response to Kite's word the four Hunters activated their _Ren_ in preparation for combat and soon after the female camera ant and along with the centipede ant charged forward, intent on killing them on the centaur's order.

Seeing this Kite handed out instructions to the young trio. "Harry take the one in the back, Gon, Killua deal the two rushing us. I'll stay back and help you if it's necessary but I want you to use them to gain some more experience so don't expect me to step in unless you're in danger of dying."

"Yes!"

"Yeah."

"Got it."

Despite their firm responses Kite felt the need to tack on an additional warning. "Do not hesitate, you must fight to kill."

""Bring it.""

Gon and Killua gave a shout as they separated their respective opponents, leaving Harry with a direct line of sight to his own target. Harry and the centaur ant engaged in a stare down as Killua and Gon were fighting their own opponents. Gon, after landing a solid blow to his opponent's side, quickly resorted to charging up his _Hatsu_ after noticing the lack of damage thanks to the ant's sheer number of arms and its ability to use them all to block hits. Killua on the other hand flicked on his switch, reducing both his opponents into dust when she flew in for an attack. She countered that by using a combination of her tongue and a stinger hidden under her skirt but unluckily for her Killua was immune to poison so when she turned her back on him thinking he was done for the count, Killua relieved the Chimera Ant of her head. As Gon and his opponent were now in a standoff, Harry's opponent apparently got bored of watching and deciding to start their own fight, not even bothering to look at the dead body of the female ant.

The centaur creature was as arrogant as Harry expected him to be and barely put any thought into his attacks, likely believing such a "weak" creature wouldn't be able to hurt him even if he somehow dodged the blows. He was wrong, dead wrong. Thanks to the utterly massive gaps in the Chimera Ants guard, coupled with his lack of tension and the disadvantages of his body structure Harry was able to deal with him easily. When the beast charged at him Harry simply side stepped and used the brief moment where he was unable to turn to jump unto its back. Thanks to the Harry's, relatively, small size and the creature's inability to fully turn around Harry was able to gouge out a deep chunk of flesh out of the centaurs "human" torso after he manipulated his hand to give himself claws. He was forced to jump off after that but the damage was done and the pain and humiliation from his blow drove the creature into a blind fury.

It was unfortunate for the creature as if it was in a more rational state of mind he would have made a better opponent. As it was all Harry had to do was move into the beast's blind spot after a particularly wild attack and use the opportunity to rip off his left foreleg. The loss of balance and the added pain drove the creature to the ground and Harry wasted no time appearing behind its back and thrusting his hand through the back of its head, killing it instantly. By that point Gon had just finished up his opponent, apparently using the Scissor variation of his _Hatsu_ to cut the centipede ant into three parts. Unfortunately, Gon let down his guard and would have been attacked in the back by the still living ant were it not for Kite watching over him.

"You can't relax after dismembering them, the head and the body can survive an entire day after they've been separated. You must crush the head." Kite admonished Gon.

"And preferably, you'll kill them quickly and quietly." Kite's _Hatsu_ , once again in its gun form tacked on.

"Oh!, it's him!"

"The thing that shot us."

"The creepy clown thing that gives my Trait a headache."

Said creepy clown seemed to take offense at Harry's words. "Oi who are you calling creepy you stinking brat! I'm not creepy I'm amazing! I got a slot machine in my mouth! It goes from 1 to 9 and each number summons a different weapon. This is my Crazy Slot! Don't forget the name or I'll kill you dead!"

Kite heaved a tired sigh. "Just go away."

"…It talks by itself?" Killua asked with slight hesitation, unwilling to voice his real thoughts.

Harry on the other hand had no such hang up. "Or are you just insane and like making a _Nen_ construct speak to you?"

Kite glared at Harry briefly before turning away. "…It just talks apparently."

Gon decided to ask a more pertinent question about the ability. "If it uses a slot machine, doesn't that mean you can't choose your weapon?"

"Yes, and I cannot change or get rid of the weapon I receive until I use it… It's aggravating."

The trio kept their thoughts of "then why did you make it" to themselves. No need to antagonize the potentially crazy _Nen_ wielder after all, especially when they were going to continue hunting Chimera Ant the rest of the night with him. With the Chimera Ants now dead the group continue to explore the hidden base for a while longer in the off chance more ants were inside. They walked in silence for a bit as they passed by more dead bodies and drug processing machines before Kite decide to speak up.

"The powers you three have are much easier to use than mine."

Killua snorted. "Compared to that thing of yours? No kidding."

Harry nodded in agreement. "I doubt I could stand it if all my wolves were that annoying."

"Yeah."

Kite's eyebrow twitched minutely. "…Gon, you appear to have incorporated Enhancer, Transmuter and Emitter abilities into your Rock-Paper-Scissors."

"Yep, but my natural affinity lies with Enhancer abilities."

"Killua used lightning… Are you a Transmuter?"

"Yeah, but it's not that strong and I lose energy fast."

"You'll have a chance to improve. And Harry, you appear to use a mix of Conjuration, Manipulation and Emitter abilities for your wolves. I would guess that you're a Conjurer naturally."

"Nope, I'm a Specialist actually, though part of my trait gives me 'natural' affinities to all the other categories."

Kite's eyes widened in surprise. "Hoh? That's rare… Anyways, we should hurry. There's nothing else here and I have a feeling that the nest is close."

After leaving the secret base the three started traveling through the forest once more, headed towards the location Kite believed the nest was in. They had only traveled for a bit under half an hour before Kite informed them that they had been surrounded. None of the younger three could tell where any enemies were but considering Kite could use _En_ , a perception technique that create a sphere of aura around the user, out to 45 meters they decided to take his claim seriously. They didn't have to wait long until he was proven right as a Chimera Ant came hurtling out of the sky, landing right in front of the group and causing a small crater to form as a result.

The Chimera Ant that showed up was based heavily on either frogs or toads and possessed a calm voice and demeanor. "Now then, let's decide order and methodology. As for our targets, you have three choices. First, decide in which order you'll fight. Two, attempt to escape. Three, give up and let us capture you. If you choose option one you will fight one-on-one battles with us for a chance to survive. I don't recommend the second option. You'll anger us, resulting in a brutal capture and prolonged suffering for all of you. Option three is out of the question. That would anger us even more than option two."

As if just waiting for the frog based Chimera Ant to stop speaking the smoke created by his hard landing finally dissipated, revealing the sight of over two dozen Chimera Ants surrounding the group. With his point made the frog ant spoke up once more. "So… What will you do?"

"Kite…" The rest of Gon's words went unspoken but it was clear he was asking for orders.

Kite gave a slight smirk. "We couldn't have asked for a better deal. One-on-one fights with their captains. We'll start with whoever is prepared to fight."

"I'll go."

"I'll go first."

"No. I will."

All of them were ready and wanted to go first, causing a subtle tension to rise between them. The three friends locked eyes with the others, none of them willing to back down. Then a few seconds later, as if by prior arrangement, they launched into a game of rock paper scissors to determine who would go first. Gon ended up winning the first round and Killua the second, meaning Harry would fight last.

Gon gave a victorious grin at his two friends before turning to face the Chimera Ants. "Okay, I'm fighting first."

The frog ant just blinked slightly, the only visible sign of his surprise at the human's behavior. "Well, we need to decide who to send from our side… #6. Who is number 6?"

"Hehehe, lucky me!"

"Baro huh?"

Baro, as the frog Chimera Ant called him, was basically a human sized Armadillo, not even showing any characteristics of other animals or humans, beyond its height and ability to speak, or even insects, which it still supposedly fell under the category for surprisingly enough. Gon didn't seem to pay much attention to those details though, being more focused on the fight itself judging by his next words.

"How will the victor be decided?"

Baro looked confused briefly before a malicious expression appear on its face. "Eh? That should be obvious! Whoever dies first loses!"

"We can't just surrender?"

Bar appeared utterly flabbergasted at Gon's words. "What!? Are you crazy? If you lose we'll feed you to the Queen! If you don't defeat me you're guaranteed to die!"

"Yeah, I'm okay with that… But there's no need for you to die. If I beat you I won't want to eat you after all."

Harry and Killua had to keep themselves from bursting out laughing at their friend's blunt words and the expression on the Chimera Ant's face.

"If you surrender, you'll live but you have to promise never to eat another human."

While the two Zoldycks could contain their humor from hearing their friend's words some of the Chimera Ants couldn't say the same once he was done talking and the clearing was filled with the sound of mocking laughter. Though that was more because they were laughing at Gon and his belief that he could defeat Baro than anything else. They did seem to tease their fellow ant a bit however, which proved to be too much for the armadillo ant to handle as he launched himself at Gon with a loud cry of "I'll kill you!", likely pissed at being mocked by his own kind.

As expected of something that looked like it was made using entirely armadillo DNA, Baro's "attack" was merely him turning himself into a ball and rolling at Gon. Admittedly he did so at a very high speed and with enough force to bring down a tree he ran into but the creature seemed fairly weak despite that as Gon easily dodged the blow. The next attack went better for the creature as it was able to land a full hit on Gon despite attempting to dodge thanks to using its tail to swiftly change directions. The damage wasn't very extensive thanks to Gon's _Ren_ and status as an Enhancer so the fight immediately picked back up.

The creature got cocky after landing a hit, even though it was surprised by Gon not being a human pancake, and started taunting him. Gon wasn't fazed however, nor did he even seem worried by the creature's ability to change course mid roll. That for a good reason as it turned out as, after Baro managed to provoke Gon's killing intent by degrading his comrades, showed why not. When the Chimera Ant went to attack Gon once more he simply stood there flaring his aura to its maximum and literally caught the speeding armadillo with his bare hands. With Baro's momentum killed and his ability to uncurl from its ball shape sealed, Gon proceeded to squish the Chimera Ant to death in a very gory fashion, making Gon the winner of the "fight". The other Chimera Ants were too stunned to react for a while so Killua, impatient to have his own fight, spoke up.

"Well, we're in a hurry. Who's my opponent?"

After getting over his shock the frog ant finally called for the next fighter. "…Next! ...#3 you're up!"

"hehehehe, you won't be smiling for long. I'm about to show you hell. Got it? I'm nothing like the trash over there." #3, in addition to being an arrogant bastard, was a rhinoceros based Chimera Ant wearing a martial arts Gi.

Gon seemed to take exception to the creature's mocking of the fallen Baro for some odd reason that Harry didn't understand and spoke up in response, his voice low and dangerous. "Trash?"

Obviously the rhino ant couldn't tell it was flirting with death at the moment and continued to piss Gon off with his words. "Huh? I said trash because he's trash, he died to a pathetic human after all… keh, I'm ten times stronger than that guy so don't think you'll be able to get out of here alive."

Killua, trying to prevent Gon from blowing up and taking his fight finally spoke up. "Oh is that it? That's nothing to brag about, ten times zero is still zero after all."

"What was that!?"

Harry couldn't hold in a snicker at hearing his brother's put down. It seemed like he had rubbed off on his brother if the level of snark he was displaying was anything to go on. Like the previous Chimera Ants they had fought today this one proved to be a bit hot headed and started his attack immediately after hearing Killua's provocation. Unlike Gon's fight Killua's opponent was incapable of even touching him however, showing that Killua's word did have some substance to them. The former assassin's speed was just on another level entirely than the creature's after all. Of course the ant made up with that with sheer durability so that when Killua landed a perfect blow to the creature's heart (without _Nen_ enhancement) it did nothing more than cut upon it's Gi top.

That didn't phase Killua too much as he simply calmly backed away and tried a different tactic. Instead of using his body Killua used his _Nen_ instead, launching multiple lighting blasts at the plate covering the creature's heart whenever he saw an opening. After about a minute of that the armor was black and cracking, which was exactly what Killua was waiting for as he went in for his final attack. This time, instead of bouncing off, his hand spearing through the beast's chest, killing it instantly, it's face locked in an expression of horror and disbelief.

Killua gave a dissatisfied look to the frog ant. "Is there anyone who is ten times stronger than this guy?"

"I know you're unsatisfied Killua but it's my turn now, you'll just have to wait back in line if you want another go."

"Tch, fine. I hope your opponent was just as boring as mine Harry."

"Yeah, yeah… so? Where's my opponent."

Harry could tell the Chimera Ants were growing uncomfortable with the situation by that point but they continued on with the one-on-one formula anyways, which was oddly honorable for beasts. Harry's opponent turned out to be #17, one of the larger Chimera Ants in the group. Standing at just over 3 meters tall and half that wide the thing looked like a meat tank packed into the armor of a beetle. Unfortunately, Killua's "curse" proved effective and the fight was incredibly boring. Not only was the creature slow it was stupid as well, barely able to talk let alone strategize. In just slightly more than a minute Harry was able to bring the creature down to its knees after ripping out the exposed flesh in between its armor plates on the back of its legs. Once that happened it was a simple matter to tear of the beast's head and promptly stomp it under foot, literally.

With the three younger Hunters having had a fight Kite chose that moment to take his turn, except he ended up dealing with all the remaining ants instead of taking his own one-on-one fight, deciding they had wasted enough time with the creatures. This time Kite's Crazy Slot landed on 2, which apparently turned it into a giant scythe and summoned a large amount of fog. According to Kite it was a bad spin but Harry couldn't see how when, after using it, Kite bisected all the remaining ants, along with a large swathe of the nearby forest in a perfect circle. Sure he, Gon and Killua had to jump high to avoid getting caught in the attack, and the scythe can only use that one technique, but it was quite powerful regardless. Harry almost wished he that looking at Kite's _Hatsu_ with his trait didn't give him a headache just to be able to potentially duplicate it, but alas it did and the technique was too unreliable for him to suffer for it.

With the way forward now clear the four pro Hunters moved on, once more walking towards the potential location of the Queen's nest. They didn't manage to walk more than a few minutes however before Kite once more detected the presence of Chimera Ants nearby. This time they were all flying in the air instead of popping out of the forest so the four hunters took off running to try in order to keep themselves from being sitting ducks.

The first attack from the new group of ants came from the left and right in the form of lightning fast attacks from cricket based Chimera Ants. The attacks, while fast, were still capable of being dodged by the hunters but the younger three had no luck landing their own counter attack upon them thanks to their ability to fly, agility and their use of the nearby trees for protection. This left them frustrated, especially when Kite informed them that they were being led into a trap and they had no ability to affect the outcome. Of course Kite was not as helpless as them in this situation and he once more active Crazy Slot. Again he rolled a 2 and used his scythe to take out all the Chimera Ants surrounding their group, letting them walk towards the ambush in a calm and prepared manner.

Upon exiting the forest, the group arrived at a tall grass plain, the likely location of the ambush the ants had tried to herd the towards. Interestingly enough their arrival seemed to make the ambusher back off, which Kite made Kite think the ant was a squadron leader, which was a soldier ant a tier higher than the captains they had fought previously in the forest. Obviously Kite wasn't content to let the ant leave just like that and decided that they would follow it, believing squadron leader would lead them to the Queen and her nest. The chase that followed turned out to be quite long but Kite's belief was proven correct as eventually the group came across the sight of a truly massive Chimera Ant nest that was nearly as tall as the nearby mountains. Of course they barely had time to take in that fact before Kite was spoked by something.

"That's a monster… What is this? I don't believe it!"

"What's wrong Kite?"

"Gon, Killua, Harry, Run!"

"""huh?""" None of them understood what was wrong, not being able to sense even the faintest hint of danger, and that caused them to hesitate.

"Hurry up! Get out of here!"

The trio barely had time to comprehend Kite's final order before something truly monstrous arrived. Before any of them could even blink Kite's right arm was sent flying, having been torn right out of its socket by the newest Chimera Ant. That sight was already enough to set the three young Hunters into near panic, but then they felt the creature's presence. Harry had felt nothing like it before. It worse than Illumi's presence by a hundred, no a thousand times. It felt like death itself was staring at them with sadistic glee, eager to see just how badly it could hurt them before they lost all hope. Killua was set to immediately run off and never look back while Harry was but a hair's breadth away from teleporting out of there but it was Gon who acted first. The sight of Kite's arm being torn off combined with the beast's aura set him off on into a fit of fury laced insanity as he looked like he was about to try and attack the creature head on. Killua didn't let that happen, reacting instantly to his friends flaring aura he knocked Gon out with a blow to the head and gathered him in his arms.

Kite never took his eyes of his new opponent but he still praised Killua's reaction. "Good decision, Killua. Now take Gon and your brother and run!"

Killua wasn't even going to hesitate to take off on foot but Harry, after he managed to get over his fear enough to think rationally, acted first. Grabbing Killua's free arm (as the other was busy holding the unconscious Gon) he teleported appear right next to Kite. The surprise of the action was enough to stun both Kite and the Chimera Ant just long enough for him to grab the pro Hunter and again activate his teleportation, taking them all away from that monster. Harry's mind went on autopilot at that point, his brain instantly taking in the information his eyes provided to constantly keep up a stream of teleports away from the monster behind them who somehow managed to track them down after the first jump. It wasn't enough.

Even as he jumped 250 meters at a time and spent only about a half second between each jump he could feel the malicious presence of the ant right behind him, constantly but a single moment of inattention away from catching up. What was even worse was that he was tiring out. His ability to teleport rapidly draining him of his magic and his nearly completely full reserves of aura not seeming to help him in that regard at all.

Harry could here Kite trying to say something, his voice pleading, but he couldn't process the words, too focused on simply escaping to waste energy on his ability to hear. Killua was also trying to say something, his voice full of panic, but Harry had no more ability to hear him than he did Kite. For a straight minute Harry kept up his teleporting, even as his vision starting fading to black and warm liquid started pouring down his face from his seven apertures ( **eyes, ears, mouth and nose** ). At some point Kite and Killua gave up trying to talk to him, that or he lost the ability to even perceive that the two were trying to speak, Harry couldn't tell. Either way it didn't matter, all that did was that he kept going. The monster was still following them; he could feel it even if he didn't know how. Harry's last thoughts before he was lost to the void was that he had to keep going, and by some miracle, his magic answered by giving him one last teleportation before he succumbed to his exhaustion and he knew no more.

When Harry woke up he was in the hospital of the town where the group had rented the truck that took them to NGL's borders from. The first thing Harry saw when he returned to consciousness was the blurry white shape of his brother's hair looking down on him from where he lied in a comfortable white bed. It took him a moment to process his body's state (which was horrible) and the memories from just before he blacked out but when he did he bolted upright despite the pain it caused him, intent on asking his brother exactly what happened.

"Killua! Where are we!? What happened!? Is that monster gone!? Where's Kite!?"

"Easy there Har, easy. Calm down little brother, you're alright, you're fine."

Instantly Harry complied. Killua's soothing tone of voice along with his calling him by "Har" and "little brother" and the feeling of his hand running through his hair was enough to set him at ease. Killua, seeing Harry calm down, proceeded to explain what happened after he fell unconscious.

"We're in the town Kite sent his team back to… You really pushed yourself Har. I don't know how you managed to keep performing so many jumps, you easily quintupled your previous maximum last night. By the time you passed out you were bleeding from your eyes, nose, ears and mouth, you had a 105-degree fever and you were suffering cardiac arrest. You almost died Har." Killua's voice broke at the end, his emotions breaking through his normally iron clad control.

Harry felt guilty seeing that and tried to explain his actions as a way of quelling that feeling. "…I had to get away Kil. It was following us, I couldn't it let it catch up and I couldn't just leave Kite behind…"

Killua nodded reluctantly. "I know Har, you're likely the only reason why any of his are alive really so I don't blame you just… just don't scare me like that again ok?"

Harry grimaced slightly, unable to agree with his brother's demand knowing it would be futile to do so, and changed the subject. "Where is Kite? He's fine right?"

Killua, despite knowing what Harry was trying to do decided to just give in. "… *Sigh* Kite is fine relatively speaking. He lost his arm of course but other than that he's ok."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "How did we escape that monster? I swear I could still feel it behind us the last thing I remember."

Killua gave a dark humorless chuckle. "That's because it was behind us. I don't know how but it managed to track us after each and every one of your jumps and its speed was incredible. It was no more than a second behind us at any time until your final jump." Killua grimaced. "I'm not sure what you did at the end but somehow you managed to send us farther than you ever did before, taking us all the way out of NGL and dropping us in front of the border checkpoint we came in. That was several tens of kilometers away Har, and the strain of doing that was likely why you heart failed, or so Kite seemed to think. If not for the medical tech at the checkpoint and your aura you might not have made it."

Here Killua had to stop for a moment and take a shaky breath to calm himself down, the memory of almost losing Harry last night still haunting him. After taking a moment to center himself Killua resumed his narrative.

"Anyways, the distance we jumped that last time was able to completely shake off that Chimera Ant, which seemed to make it give up, or at least search in the wrong direction, as we never felt its presence again. After making sure you were stable enough to transport, and that Kite wouldn't bleed out from his injury, we left the border as fast as possible, running back to town so we could have access to better care facilities, such as the hospital we're in right now. Kite checked himself out an hour ago and went to collect his team, though he said he'd be back around now."

"I see… that's good. Do you think I can see him? Also how's Gon, you hit him pretty hard when you knocked him out."

"Sure, I'll go see if I can find him for you Har, he wanted to speak to you when you woke up anyways. And Gon is fine and he didn't suffer any adverse effects from the hit. He is also too busy being happy that Kite is alive to be pissed at me for knocking him out which is also good. Of course I think he's started worshiping you after hearing about how you saved Kite's life so watch out for that."

Harry could tell Killua was telling the truth, at least partially, despite the mischievous, teasing tone he used when he spoke about Gon, which caused Harry to groan in exasperation. That wasn't a great idea as it brought attention to all pain his body was in. Killua just smirked as he left the room, happy with the small amount of payback he was able to give his brother for worrying him, though that faded quickly as his mind turned to his own actions/reactions last night. For several minutes Harry just stared blankly into his hospital room's dull white ceiling, thinking of nothing, simply letting his mind rest and the loud throbbing in his head to fade. He had some marginal success in this by the time the door to his room opened, revealing the tall lanky form of Kite. The two Hunters spent a few moments simply looking at each other before Kite broke the silence.

"Harry…I want to say thank you. While I'm unsure how my fight what the Chimera Ant might have gone and still believed I had a chance of victory if you all left it remains a fact that I was at a disadvantage from losing my arm. You quite likely saved my life by risking your own in the process. For that you have my gratitude."

Harry pursed his lips. "…There's no need to thank me. It was our fault you lost your arm in the first place right? If you didn't have to look after us, you could have avoided that first attack."

Kite stared at Harry for a moment before nodding slowly. "…You're right, but that doesn't change anything. You did good Harry, believe me when I say that."

"…Thank you… What's going to happen now?"

"For now we do nothing. Neither you, me, Gon or Killua are in any shape to fight as we are now, especially not with that monster around."

While Harry wasn't upset by Kite's statement he couldn't help but voice a question. "But what about the Chimera Ants? We can't just leave them be right?"

There was a faint glimmer of respect in Kite's eyes as he appraised Harry. "Don't worry about them. Reinforcements arrived while you were out of it. They're taking over things as of now."

"Reinforcements?"

"Yes. Chairman Netero along with two pro Hunters, Knov and Morel, were called in by the surrounding countries to deal with the threat directly. There are a few others as well but they are staying in town for now."

That confused him. "Why? Why stay here? Shouldn't they be going along with the Chairman?"

Instead of answered Kite replied with a question of his own. "…Tell me something Harry. What do you want to do from this point on? Do you want to back out of the hunt or do you want to keep fighting?"

Harry barely even hesitated. "I want to fight. I want to get stronger so I don't have to flee in terror after running into that Chimera Ant again."

Kite's face was unreadable. "Is that your final answer?"

Harry nodded. "It is."

A faint smirk appeared on Kite's face and approval was visible in his eyes. "Then you have a chance. All you need to do is beat one of the three remaining Hunters in town and you can join the Chairman in hunting down the rest of the Chimera Ants. That's what they are waiting here by the way, it was also something the Chairman himself set up. Also I think you should know that Gon and Killua made the same decision as you did."

"I see…" A slight smile appeared on Harry's face.

Kite walked up to Harry and gave his shoulder a pat before leaving the room, though not before giving a final parting comment. "Rest up Harry, the doctors say you'll be free to go after another three days of rest. I'll send in Gon when I leave so I think you best prepare yourself."

"Wait you mean that-?"

No sooner had Kite left then did Gon crash into the room talking a mile a minute. "Harry! Are you ok!? How are you feeling!? Thank you for saving Kite! You're teleporting is even cooler than it was before! Are you sure you can't teach me!?"

Harry's eyebrow started twitching as he waited for Gon to stop talking. Thankfully Gon had gotten a bit more observant so it only took him a minute to calm down enough for him to speak. "*sigh* I'm fine Gon, Kite said the doctors will clear me to leave after another two days. You're welcome I guess and no I still can't teach you sorry. Though I'm sure you can figure out your own ability to teleport using _Nen_ if you really wanted to…maybe..."

The two friends descended into easy chatter after that as they waited for Killua to show back up. It didn't take long as he had apparently been just outside the room speaking to Kite about something. Whatever he had been talking about seemed to leave Killua introspective though so he didn't immediately make his presence known. One he got out of his thoughts however Killua looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders so Harry didn't mind. Killua quickly took a seat near Harry's bed after that and the three turned serious as the conversation turned towards the Chimera Ants and joining the subjugation force against them.

"Do you have any idea who the other Hunters are Killua, Gon?"

"Yeah, we were introduced to them while you were out of it."

"How were they? Strong?"

"Very. One, whose name is Knuckle, acted like a loudmouthed idiot but his aura was no joke. I'd estimate we'd only have a 2-3% of beating him. Another, whose name was Shoot, looked like a nervous wreck but he his aura was on par with the idiot's and he gave off the feeling of an assassin. I'd say we have a 3-4% chance of beating him. As for the last one her name was Palm and, while she didn't feel as strong as the others she was extremely close. She also felt much more ominous though, like a mix between being near an ocean of blood and the feeling of having your grave walked over. I'd estimate we have no more than a 4% chance of beating her."

Harry quietly digested that information for a few moments for speaking up. "I see… so what's the plan? And how long do we have to beat them?"

"A month. I want to spend time gathering intelligence and working on a plan to take them down easily, though Gon says he has other ideas."

Gon just nodded at Killua's words, his expression serious. "Mhm. I think we should work on our fundamentals for most of the month and I don't think we should figure out their abilities. It might be harder but that's what we'll face in NGL. The unknown"

Killua looked contemplative but simply shrugged at their friend's words. "Well, that's how it is. What do you think we should do Harry?"

"…I agree with Gon on this actually. There are a lot of Chimera Ants still alive and there's no telling if there will be more like that monster at this point. We need to get stronger and gain experience fighting blind as it were if we want any hope of surviving against more Ants like that one."

"Well said Harry!" The sudden appearance of another voice in their conversation startled the three youths, none of them having detected the presence before they spoke up. Killua and Gon instantly got into ready stances, though they just as quickly faded when they saw who it was.

"""Biscuit? Why are you here?"""

Biscuit smiled at them brightly. "Correct my cute little students. And your friend Kite called me in to help you out as he said he had things to take care of. Lucky for you I was in the area when he did."

"So does that mean that you're going to train us again?" Gon asked happily.

Again Biscuit gave them a bright smile. "Yup! We'll be starting back up your training tomorrow. I hear the old man gave you a month to beat those other Hunters and you're going to need all the time you can get. That old coot is nasty and when he says to do something in a month it usually means it should take an entire year."

Harry and Killua deadpanned. ""…That sounds like the old bastard alright.""

"Old man? You mean the Chairman? But he seemed really nice."

Biscuit didn't even deign to respond to Gon's naïve words, it just wasn't worth the hassle to correct his perception at this point. As Kite didn't tell Biscuit what the trio were actually training for she proceeded to ask her disciples just that. So the three young Hunters told their master the entire sequence of events, from how using Accompany lead them to Kite to finding out about a possible giant Chimera Ant, traveling to NGL, the fights they had and the monster that ripped off Kite's arm. By the end of it Biscuit had a grim look on her face and merely reaffirmed her decision to train them into the ground in the month of time she was given. With a promise to come back to collect Harry the next day, despite the doctors' saying he couldn't leave for another three, Biscuit left and the trio descended into a tense silence as the pushed their memories of yesterday back down.

After that the trio spent rest of the day just talking. Sometimes it was just fun things like silly stories or events from the past while others were more serious like talking about the guilt they all felt for Kite's missing arm. The most common, and longest, topic though was about _Nen_ and their upcoming training. All three of them spoke their personal thoughts about how to further improve their _Hatsu_ before asking for advice from the other two. It was fairly productive for all them though Killua was the one who benefitted the most, Gon's technique being too simple/straightforward to change anything (without it becoming another technique all together anyways) and Harry's too complicated to use some of the other's ideas in the short term. He did however get one good idea from Killua (though he had already thought of it), which was mixing in electricity with his wolves, his brother obviously knowing about his desire to copy his _Hatsu_. Luckily he wasn't offended, he was actually quite willing to help his endeavors in fact, though Gon got jealous that he wasn't trying to make a version of his technique so Harry had to promise him he'd work on that later. By the time they stopped talking night had fallen and Harry was feeling much better even though he was exhausted. As a result, it didn't take him long to fall asleep after saying his goodnights.

The next morning Harry had barely finished eating breakfast when Biscuit burst through the door, grabbed him by the back of his hospital gown and then dragged him out of the hospital like a sack of potatoes. It was not a good day for his self-esteem, especially when he felt a breeze upon leaving the hospital. Thankfully Killua had bought him a new set of clothes based on his usual style (black long sleeved turtleneck and pants) so he was able to change before they started training, though his brother did take the opportunity to needle him for his exhibitionism while he could. Gon thankfully refrained from doing so, likely not knowing what the word meant, as did Biscuit so he had that going for him at least.

Once Harry was dressed Biscuit wasted no time starting their training. Like most of her exercises the first part of their training was deceptively simple, maintain their _Ren_ for three hours. The problem was that even Harry, who had the best _Ren_ of the three, could only maintain the technique for an hour flat in his top condition outside of combat. That didn't mean they wouldn't try of course. Biscuit had flat out told them that they wouldn't start the next step of their training until they completed this one after all. So they tried the exercise and, to no one's surprise, failed. None of them even reached an hour on their first attempt for various reasons.

Instead of offering advice, encouragement or even waiting for them to catch their breath however, Biscuit simply told them to try again. And so it went, the three attempting to use _Ren_ for as long as possible until they all, one by one, collapsed from exhaustion, only to be told to pick themselves up and try again. Even when they passed out from the strain they didn't get to rest long, only being allowed thirty minutes of sleep before the next "day" of training started. The only reason why that was possible, without killing them of course, was thanks to Biscuit's _Hatsu_ making that thirty minutes of rest equal to a normal night's sleep.

It took the trio just under two weeks to finally last three hours using _Ren_ , a shocking rate of improvement considering that Biscuit told them it usually took a whole month just to add 30 minutes to a person's _Ren_. It still felt too slow for the young Hunters but they were finally starting their next phase of their training, despite their exhaustion. The next leg was them fighting against one of the other potential members of the subjection squad. It did make sense as it would provide them good experience, especially as they were still tired out from their previous training. Of course this was assuming they could keep themselves from flat out losing and having to forfeit their chance to join the subjugation force.

Thankfully Knuckle, who was the only candidate they could easily find, turned out to be a good guy and was willing to agree to the idea of sparing with them without cost despite his rather thug like personality/appearance. Well, he agreed once he got over the perceived insult that having to fight kids, who also showed up exhausted to a fight, was to him. Having some of the arrogance knocked out of him after he gave them a free punch on him helped too. Gon was the one to do that with the help of his _Hatsu_ , and it had been quite satisfying to watch. They had technically defeated him as a result but none of them wanted to take such a "victory" so they took his unconscious body back to their room so he could recover. When he woke up the next morning Knuckle was much more open to the idea of the spars against them as a result.

Knuckle also had a rather interesting conversation with Gon as they practiced their _Ren_ about his reasons for joining the Chimera Ant task force when he decided to stick around till nightfall. Harry and Killua thought it stupid that he wanted to join the mission to keep them from killing all the ants but neither voiced their thoughts. After all he was doing them a favor and it wouldn't do to alienate him by mocking his beliefs.

Another few rounds of three hour long _Ren_ practice later and night had fallen, meaning the trio once more going to spar against Knuckle. This time the three actually got a fight instead of the farce that happened last night. Despite it being three against one however none of them could even land a single blow. Knuckle was just too much stronger, faster and more experienced than them. Even if they weren't utterly exhausted and moving almost on willpower alone they likely wouldn't have done any better. The fight that night ended with the three friends barely able to stand and having to drag each other back to their room, where they promptly collapsed into exhaustion once more.

That pattern continued itself right up until the day before the last day of the deadline. Each day the three young Hunters got progressively better at their _Ren_ , eventually able to last the full three hours without really having to concentrate at all, the technique being as easy as breathing almost. Once they reached that point Biscuit decided to let them rest for a half an hour before fighting Knuckle, which would end up being their second to last fight with the man. With the time given to recover they were at their full strength when they went off to challenge Knuckle that night. Well Gon was the one who fought Knuckle by himself, Killua and Harry simply watched.

With the fruits of their training and the extra rest Gon was able to put up a much better fight than even the three of them together had been able to give him before. Despite that however Gon was overwhelmed fairly easily. Knuckle was easily able to read his every move thanks to Gon's aura giving away his intent with before his every move. Even when Gon tried his _Hatsu_ , which he named JaJanken in a fit of panic over not having one (he hadn't named it before Knuckle brought it up), he fared no better.

Sure Gon had managed to reduce its flaws since he last used it, mainly its charge time and the risk of taking damage he was in, but it was enough, especially against an opponent of Knuckle's caliber. The fight wasn't a complete stomp however as Gon was able to capitalize on his opponent's kindness (Knuckle refused to land an actual deadly/crippling blow when he could) to stay in the fight. He even managed to land a hit a few times, mostly by using fake outs with his newly named _Hatsu_ but again it wasn't enough. After one last final attack, where Gon used the Paper variant of his JaJanken as feint in an attempt to land a Rock to Knuckle's back Gon lost as, Gon out from exhaustion.

Killua picked up Gon off the ground after that, neither tempted to fight Knuckle now, and the trio returned back to their room, giving a promise to come back tomorrow to fight their own opponents and settle things once and for all. They also made sure to make their displeasure known to the kindhearted Hunter about his fighting Gon with kiddy gloves, which he seemed to take to heart.

After getting back to the room and laying Gon to rest the two Zoldycks, as they hadn't fought at all that night, were forced to fight Biscuit in her "natural" form. Said "natural" form being a nearly 2-meter-tall heavily muscled Amazon who didn't look anywhere close to her supposed 50+ years. That spar went poorly and left the two assassins with rather impressive lumps on their faces and having to face some unpleasant truths about themselves. Mainly they were too quick to quit and always planned to escape if things went wrong. She even claimed they would leave Gon behind to die at some point, and the worst part was that they couldn't even deny the possibility. It was just how they were trained, how Illumi had conditioned them over the years. It wasn't something so easily overcome by simply wishing for it to happen. The two ended up being rather grim company on the walk over to their opponent's location as a result of mulling over Biscuit's words that entire day, though thankfully Gon didn't seem to mind (or even notice).

When they arrived at the park on that final they saw all three of their opponents waiting for them. Knuckle was there dressed in his white Yakuza jacket and pants as per usual, a determined expression on his face. He was to be Gon's opponent. To his was his fellow disciple Shoot, who was wearing a purple robe with the left sleeve ending in a large bulge, his expression was tense but full of resolve. Killua had decided that that would be his opponent. Finally, to Knuckle's right was the last Hunter and the only female slated for the Chimera Ant task force, Palm. Palm was wearing a thin, plain pink dress and had wild scraggly black hair that covered most of her face, leaving only her intense pink eyes visible. Her expression was downright murderous as she stared balefully at Harry, who was to be her opponent for the night.

No one in either group spoke for a few moments as they sized their respective opponents up until, by an unspoken agreement, they paired off and went their respective ways. The fights were to be one-on-one and none of them were going to stay where they could interfere with the other's fights, even accidently. Gon and Knuckle stayed in the usual park clearing to fight, while Harry, Palm, Killua and Shoot went into the forest on either side for their respective battles. After they went deep enough into the woods Harry and Palm didn't even exchange words before they started their fight.

Palm was the first to strike, lashing out with a brutal side kick with her right leg that nearly broke through Harry's guard. He retaliated with his own kick after he tried to dash into her guard but that was easily dodged and he suffered a punch to the face as a result. Thanks to his _Ken_ he was able to take the hit without taking significant damage luckily but he was still left disorientated. He didn't get a chance to recover however before Palm was upon him again, striking out with a hammer blow that knocked him to the ground. Despite losing the air from his lungs he forced himself to push himself away from the following attack, a vicious stomp that left a crater in the ground where his body had previously been lying. Harry had no doubt that his opponent was much more willing to kill him than Knuckle was Gon.

Harry launched himself at Palm after that, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks at the woman, probing for weaknesses but finding none. His opponent wasn't passive however, as between her blocks and dodges she returned her own blows, of which over half broke through Harry's guard dealing light to moderate damage to wherever they hit. Harry could feel the growing certainty that he was going to lose at that point and was starting to hear the voice of Illumi speaking in his head, urging him to run. Despite his desires it was something he couldn't fully ignored and he unconsciously disengaged from the fight as a result. When his actions caught up with conscious mind Harry felt disgusted with himself as Biscuit's words replayed within his mind. He would not prove Biscuit right; he would not be a coward and a loser.

" **Los Lobos!** "

Harry's cry summoned 10 larger than normal wolves to his side, being roughly the same size as Dire wolves, all of which were growling angrily, as if displaying a desire to rip the source of their master's inner conflict to shreds. This time though, instead of waiting back to let his _Nen_ beasts attack alone, Harry ran with his wolves, fully integrating himself with his pack. It didn't seem to matter though as Palm took the chance before his charge to activate her own _Hatsu_ , which engulfed her in her own hair creating a sort of armor consisting of a dress, hat and high heeled boots. It didn't seem like much until one of his wolves managed to latch onto her and explode, resulting in absolutely zero damage much to Harry's shock. The worst part was she hadn't even covered herself in aura when that happened, meaning she could use _Ko_ without worrying about taking fatal damage. Palm promptly showed this to be the case as she did a drop kick towards Harry's head that he barely dodged, causing a ten-meter-wide crater in the ground where it landed.

After witnessing that Harry could feel the voice of Illumi get stronger in his mind as the urge to run became harder and harder to ignore. But he wouldn't back down, he wouldn't run away, he wouldn't be a loser anymore. Harry felt something inside his head snap even as his remaining wolves were destroyed and Palm started coming at him like a freight train. His mind now more clear than he ever remember it being Harry managed to dodge Palm's flurry of punches, even if it was by the skin of his teeth. Of course simply dodging wouldn't lead him to victory and Harry knew that so he started his counter attack by one again summoning his wolves.

This time instead of siccing the wolves on Palm he did something he had only had the basic idea of in his head and had never practiced. He had the wolves "attack" him. Unlike they would against an enemy his wolves didn't explode upon latching onto Harry, instead they slowly shrank and molded themselves onto his body, turning his aura into flickering waves of green. Despite the impressive visual effect Harry knew the technique was unstable and could even feel it threatening to explode even as he continued dodging Palm's increasingly aggressive attacks. He was only going to be able to get one or two hits in before he lost control, so he needed to make them count. The next time Harry dodged one of Palm's punches he immediately stepped into her guard, his right arm tucked into his side and his left extended out, his palm facing towards Palm's chest.

" **FENRIR (GOD EATER)!"**

With a loud cry Harry bright his left arm back and launch his right arm forward in a perfect textbook punch. Unlike a normal punch however Harry's hand was in the shape of fangs and the silhouette of a large green wolf was surrounding it, a monstrous hour howl being torn from its mouth. Palm had only enough time to bring her left arm up to block the blow before it hit, the silhouette of the wolf completely covering her, as if she had been devoured by it, before the technique detonated.

The explosion this time was large than even the ten simultaneous explosions of his normal wolves, and Harry was right in the middle of it low on aura. Harry could feel his body covered all over in light burns and abrasions, his clothing in tatters and the darkness encroaching on his vision. The last thing he saw before unconsciousness took him was the sight of Palm surrounded by smoke, her left arm a mess of burns, broken bones and gashes. Despite knowing, he had lost in those last few seconds Harry never felt better, almost like he was unburdened and clean for the first time in years, like a dark presence within him had been destroyed. Which was why he had a smile on his face even as he lied on the ground, unconscious to the world around him.

When Harry woke up the next day he found out that Killua and Gon hadn't fared much better than him in winning their fights, even worse in some ways. Gon was now incapable of using _Nen_ for the next 30 days due to Knuckle's _Hatsu_ while Killua seemed to be full of shame and guilt. Harry could guess why, he probably felt the same things Harry did during his fight, only he was unable to overcome it like he had. Unfortunately, it was something Killua needed to deal with on his own without outside interference judging by what Harry felt from his own experience.

Despite being upset over their losses to varying degrees none of them held any ill will towards their former opponents and, on mutual agreement, they decided to travel to NGL's border with them to give them a proper sendoff. The trip to the border was tense in spite of their good intentions however, and the group traveled in silence. To be far Palm's arm was pretty beat up from his last attack so her death glares were rather understandable, and were also the biggest source of tension between their groups. After some tearful goodbyes, entirely from Gon and Knuckle, the young trio started the trip back to the city. Gon spent a bit of time moping on the way before he snapped out of it with a resolution to simply train harder. Of course, since his couldn't use _Nen_ for a month he had to focus on physical training but he didn't seem to mind as he started cranking out pushups in the truck bed. Harry simply decided to follow his lead, only he practiced his _Ren_ instead while Killua just sat quietly, his focus towards inward.

When they arrived back in town the trio decided to get back into training, though they decided to show solidarity (for the first day at least) by going with Gon to a gym to train their bodies instead of working on _Nen_. Once there the topic of girls came up for some odd reason and it was revealed that Gon had been on dates with older woman before, all of whom "taught him lots of things". Harry was almost certain they were misinterpreting things, unless the world really had as many pedophiles as he thought it did sometimes, so he was less embarrassed than Killua was. Luckily the conversation was stopped when Gon received a phone call from Knuckle updating them on the Chimera Ant situation. It was grim news as while the Queen was dead (Knuckle seemed upset by that for some reason) the King had already been born and had left with his royal guard, of whom the Chimera Ant from "that" night was part of, to locations unknown.

Even worse was the fact that the majority of the other soldier ants, all of which now knew how to use _Nen_ to Harry's subtle horror, were spreading out and going their own way. Reports were already coming in about multiple attacks on the humans in nearby cities. The three were noticeably tense as they listening to the various news channels that night, though they didn't let it bother them too much, knowing they couldn't do anything about it at the moment.

The next morning the three all had their own plans and split up for the day. Gon wanted to explore the nearby woods as he hadn't been able to really enjoy nature like he used to ever sense the Hunter Exam and wanted to see if he could find inspiration for more _Nen_ techniques there. Killua didn't have any plans beyond going to the gym supposedly. Harry could tell he was lying however and was likely going to shadow Gon for the rest of the day considering he still couldn't use _Nen_ and the threat of the Chimera Ants in the area. Harry would have gone too but he trusted Killua to be able to handle it. For his part Harry was going to do something that he knew his friend and brother wouldn't approve of, he was going to call for help.

"Gotoh, it's Harry, is Silva home? It's urgent." Harry waited for a few moments as the call was redirected before he heard the voice of his father on the phone.

"Yo Harry, I honestly never expected you to call. Gotoh said it was urgent, what happened?"

Harry cut right to the chase. "What do you know about Chimera Ants."

"… More than the general public why? Are you involved with that mess somehow?"

"Yeah and I'm asking for help from the family. The Chimera Ants are spreading out from their nest and I don't think they can be dealt with without help."

"Reasons?"

"They can all use _Nen_."

"… Your grandfather has already been hired by the Hunter Association's Chairman for help with the issue."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Grandfather?"

"Yeah, apparently the ant king got away and the Chairman needed help with a plan of his."

"…What about the others?"

"I can have the family help out against them, but only in the Dentora Region, I won't send anyone against targets in other continents. It also won't be free Harry."

Harry's grip tightened on his phone, cracking the tough plastic as he tried to reign in his temper. With a long drawn out sigh Harry finally responded. "Fine, name your price."

"14 targets, my choice."

"…done."

Harry hung up after that, not willing to talk to the man any more than necessary after their deal was struck. He didn't put away his phone however as he had one last call to make.

"…Phinks? It's Harry."

"Well if it isn't the brat, what you want kid? Finally decide to join us?"

"No, I have need of your services."

"Hoh? What you need then? A copy of that game? Sorry to say we don't have any of those anymore, they're all sold out."

"No. I need help with dealing with some dangerous… beings."

"…We're not assassins kid, nor are we mercenaries. We're thieves. If you need someone killed shouldn't you ask your family? Or better yet do it yourself?"

Harry had to struggle hard to keep his annoyance out of his voice. "I know you aren't but I need your help anyways. You ever here about Chimera Ants?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Ok well, short version is that they are bugs that eat things and assimilate their DNA to make themselves stronger."

"…We're not exterminators either."

"…The DNA in this case comes from humans and they're 2 meters tall on average… and they can use _Nen_."

"…And you want a bunch of thieves to help you kill them? Sounds more like a job for Hunters if you ask me."

"…ten teams of pro-Hunters died investigating these creatures and that was before they learned to use _Nen_. I'm not too sure about the strength of the Association but I know for a fact that the amount of hunters barely tops 1,000. The fact the Chairman has involved himself personally to eventually fight the Chimera Ant King should give you an idea about the relative strength of their soldiers. Like it or not you group are the strongest _Nen_ users I know could hand them that aren't already involved."

"... Say we agree, where would we find these ants and what will you give us to help you."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "The Queen of the hive died recently so all the soldiers are going their own ways, meaning they could appear anywhere. I'm not asking you to actively hunt them down or do against the King but if you're in the area I would…appreciate it if you killed those nearby."

"How appreciative?"

"I'd owe you a favor."

"Ha! What kind of favor could you provide that would be worth us taking on this kind of job?"

"I can teleport and would help you on whatever job you seemed to have in mind for me?"

"Sorry to this kid but that ain't gona cut it."

Harry grit his teeth. "Fine, what do you want then."

"Join the Phantom Troupe."

"No." Harry instantly shot him down.

"Heh. Are we really that bad kid?"

"You had Hisoka as a member at one point."

"…point but he's gone and honestly he's the worst one amongst us. Besides kid, it's not like you'll be forced to do anything really beyond travel with the group and help us with our heists."

Harry deadpanned. Har"Yeah but I don't like you."

"HA! I like your attitude kid, you're going to fit in well with the spiders."

Harry's eyebrow twitched. "I said I wasn't going to join you, you heard me right."

"Yeah but I know you're going to accept anyways. You have to be desperate to call me for help in the first place so I doubt you'll just reject my offer."

Harry went quiet, knowing that Phinks was right, only speaking again after several seconds. "One year, I'll join for one and then I'm gone."

"One year and then we can still call in a ten favors at any time."

Harry could practically hear the smirk on Phinks' face. "Fine, we have a deal. But I want proof that you've killed Chimera Ants otherwise I won't join. I'll join as soon as the Chimera Ant situation is resolved."

"Done. I'll give you a call when it's over, I'll be able to figure out when that is one my own. Welcome to the spider's kid."

Harry hung up, not bothering to reply. As he did so he let loose a tired sigh. He hoped he wasn't going to regret this but he honestly didn't see another choice. Regular Chimera Ants could already kill Pro-Hunters, now that they know _Nen_? He was very concerned and that wasn't even factoring in that Knuckle said that the Chairman was about equal to the Royal Guard in strength according to a "friendly" Chimera Ant. If the Chairman of the Hunter Association was only as strong as a Royal Guard, then how strong was the King? And what about the squadron leaders? Would only three star Hunters or those with equivalent strength be capable of fighting them? It was a bad situation all around and Harry needed to play all the cards he had available to avoid the worst case scenario. The extinction of the human race wasn't something he wanted after all.

Harry quickly put those kinds of morbid thoughts out of his mind as he spent the rest of the day practicing _Nen_ , the difficult training he was putting himself through serving as a good distraction. Besides being a distraction he also knew if he wanted the best chance of surviving a fight with the Chimera Ants every bit of practice would help. Especially if he could manage to perfect his new techniques, especially the one he used against Palm.

It was late at night when the trio met up again andit turned Harry's trust in Killua was well placed as Gon returned without a single scratch. Even better Killua seemed to have broken through the same thing he did, though in a more…direct fashion than Harry. When he pulled Killua aside to ask what happened informed him that he had to dig out one of Illumi's needles from inside his brain in order to keep himself from running from the rabbit ant they first fought in NGL and leaving Gon to die. Once he did that however he easily dealt with the creature since he was no longer fighting against Illumi's subliminal messages and malicious aura. Harry had to wonder if he still had a needle in his brain or if he somehow crushed it with his aura. He tried to find out but Killua stopped him from digging around in his own skull so the answer was left inconclusive.

Once that bit of curiosity (madness) Harry then turned towards the implications of Killua's tale, mainly in giving him a better idea about the strength of the Chimera Ants now that they knew _Nen._ According to Kite the rabbit ant had been a captain level ant at best so knowing that and the apparent strength of a Royal Guard he could make a basic deduction of strength. Normal soldiers, about the same as moderately experienced pro-Hunters, or about as strong as they had been after Greed Island. Captains were about the same as they had been half way through their month of training. Which meant that Squad Leaders were likely as strong if not strong than them. Of course the rabbit could have been a stronger or weaker example of his rank and he didn't know more than basic aura manipulation but it was good enough for now.

This did mean that the ants would likely get stronger as time went on however, as Harry honestly doubted the ants had known about _Nen_ until their group ran into them. Which meant they only had a month at best to learn how to use it. That level of improvement was frightening and even rivaled, if not eclipsed, his, Killua's and Gon's so if they weren't taken care of soon who knew how strong they'd get. Which also meant he hadn't made a deal with two Devils for nothing thankfully. Harry shook himself out of those thoughts and returned his attention back to his friend and brother.

Like Harry, Killua was now feeling… liberated for lack of a better word after removing Illumi's taint and even Gon could see the change. While curious about what happened he was simply happy that Killua was better, the same as Harry. As a result of their good moods, the three spent the next two days simply acting like the kids they were as they had fun in the city. The trio still set aside time to train of course but beyond that they did simple things like visiting candy stores and even going to the movies, things normal children their age would do. After those two days however their routine was broken when they were called to a meeting with the members of the Chimera Ant task force. It turned out they were in for a surprise when they showed up as, in addition to Knuckle, Shoot, Palm and their masters Knov and Morel, Kite was also in attendance. What was even more surprising however was the fact that his right arm was no longer a stump. Gon was the first to voice his surprise however.

"Kite! What are you doing here!? And how'd you heal your arm!?"

Kite gave a slight smirk. "Yo Gon, how you been? And why wouldn't I be here? I was the one who was in charge of the Chimera Ant investigation in the first place so this is still technically my hunt. As for my arm well, I remember a certain card that you ran into on Greed Island and decided to check it out."

Killua asked the question all three young Hunters were wondering. "But I though Greed Island shut down once we complete it?"

Kite of course completely ignored him. "Hmm? You seem different Killua? Something good happen?"

Harry tried to get the discussion back on topic. "You can say that, and you didn't answer his question."

"Oh Harry! You seem to have grown a bit since I last saw you, congratulations." Harry started to violently twitch at that, though thankfully Kite decided to humor them before he could explode. "And you're both right and wrong. Greed Island didn't really end once you cleared it, it simply reset. There's no more prize available for beating the game and apparently the restricted cards you took out are now different but that's all. I simply contacted your former employer, Battera, for a copy of the game and then used it to find a Breath of Archangel card. I was only able to manage that yesterday before I exited the game here."

"I'm just glad your back Kite."

"Same."

"Ditto, though I do have to wonder what this meeting is about."

At Harry's words Kite turned serious. "Right… simply put we are calling in all available help to deal with the Chimera Ant problem and you three are the only ones nearby that could help us against the King's royal guard."

"No, _you_ think they could help us Kite me and Knov on the other hand aren't so sure." The man who spoke up was likely Morel, Knuckle and Shoots master. The man was tall, with a large blocky nose, white hair and an extremely large pipe he carried over his shoulders.

"Indeed, we're willing to give them a chance based on your recommendation Kite but they'll have to prove themselves once Gon recovers his _Nen_." Knov looked more like a business man than a pro Hunter what with his formal attire, carefully maintained hair and the cold, calculating demeanor he projected.

"Right... Of course this is assuming you want to continue in this hunt. So what will it be, Gon, Killua, Harry?"

The three shared a look before Gon stood forward and spoke for the group. "We're in." Though Harry soon followed up on his words. "I've also called in back up of my own. They won't be joining us here but they'll take care of the ants that left the island."

The whole group looked confused by that but it was Gon who asked the question they were all thinking. "Who'd you call for help."

Harry cringed, something that everyone noticed. "I asked my family for help, they'll take care of any ants that reach the Dentora region."

Killua gaped at him before erupting in anger. "What the hell Harry!? You actually asked the family for help!? Are you crazy!?"

Harry glared at his brother. "Who else do you know that are strong enough to deal with _Nen_ using giant carnivorous ant monsters Killua?"

Killua glared right back. "And what did you have to promise to get dad to agree to help."

"…14 targets…his choice."

Killua looked like he was about to erupt before he forced himself to calm down. While Killua was calming himself down Morel spoke up.

"Who's your family kid? And what makes you think they can play with the big boys."

Harry deadpanned at him. "We're Zoldycks…"

Morel shut up at that, suitably embarrassed as did Harry, unwilling to speak any further, and definitely unwilling to speak about his deal with the Phantom Troupe either. That was something he wasn't going to tell anyone, not even his brother.

All 9 Hunters stayed silent after that, wrapped up in their own thoughts until the meeting was called. The separate groups went their own ways back to their temporary lodgings, intent on making use of the time it took to obtain information on the King the best way they could, training. With Gon incapable of using aura still he simply continued improving himself physically while Harry and Killua sparred with Kite and worked on improving their _Hatsu_. It was productive for everyone and Harry finally managed to get down the two techniques he thought vital for this operation if he wanted to get out in one piece, as did Killua. In this time Harry also received the occasional message from Phinks containing pictures of dead Chimera Ants, which meant he couldn't get out on his deal without breaking his word unfortunately.

Three weeks later information finally came in and they left the city, heading in the direction of East Gorteau, which had been determined to be the most likely location of the King. The trip there took nearly a week due to the realness of the Island and the countries on it. Of course they had just reached the borders of their final destination when they finally received they full marching orders from the Chairman. Apparently he wanted the group to divide into three teams and draw away the royal guard so he could deal with the King (along with the help of Harry's grandfather, though he only knew that due to speaking with Silva). The mission start time was in 10 days, right before East Gorteau host their celebration (which was believed to be some kind of front created by King to either feed on or assimilate the humans).

The group spent a long time discussing just who would be on what team, which team would go after what royal guard and what specific tasks each member should accomplish. Knov would be the one in charge of actually getting the three teams near the Chimera Ants through the use of his _Hatsu_ , a teleportation type ability using _Nen_ that caused stars to form in Gon's eyes. Apparently he was still enamored with the ability to teleport from Harry's various exploits, who knew?

As for the teams Kite, Gon and Killua were all adamant about going after the Chimera Ant they last ran into at NGL, whose name was Neferpitou according to their friendly source of information, obviously looking for payback/revenge. That would be one team, assuming the three youngest Hunters passed Knov and Morel's evaluation of course. Harry was also tempted to go after that monster but decided against it in favor of making the teams even and keeping an argument from occurring about team placement. Instead he was tentatively paired with Palm and Knov against one of the "male" guards who possessed butterfly wings, known as Shaiapouf. The other team was Morel and his two students who would be against the last royal guard member, Menthuthuyoupi. Of course their teams and targets were subject to change as new information came in and the situation unfolded but for now that was what they settled on.

None of that would really matter if they failed to impress the two oldest pro Hunters however, so the three friends moved outside in preparation for Gon to regain his aura. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long luckily and soon enough Gon was chosen to be the first face Morel's evaluation. Harry wasn't sure if the man really knew what he was getting into when he told his friend to not hold back and attack him like he was enemy but didn't say anything. As a result, the rest of the group was treated to the sight of Gon's trigger being flipped as he prepared to attack Morel with full intent to actually kill him, which was quite a jarring sight from the naturally happy-go-lucky boy. Harry and Killua stepped in before he could do so however, knowing that Gon wasn't fully thinking anymore and that he would have hated himself if he actually did manage to kill Morel. Interestingly enough the bulky pro Hunter didn't see the need to test the two Zoldycks after that experience, not that they were complaining.

With that settled the groups split off, each taking different routes to infiltrate East Gorteau with plans on meeting up in several days' time. Kite, Killua and Gon decided to try and enter the country from the ocean. The plan for them was to warn as many of the outlying villagers about the Chimera Ants as possible to keep them from arriving for the selection. Barring that they would simply cause as much chaos as possible to create the same effect.

Knov, Harry and Palm on the other hand went through "official" channels cultivated by the Hunters Association (meaning lots of bribes), though only Knov stayed in the real world, the other two spending their time in his dimension space. Harry didn't mind as it gave him a chance to continue training while also allowing his Trait plenty of time to figure out how exactly the technique worked. He could teleport himself but he couldn't create a personal pocket dimension so he was definitely interested in the man's technique. Judging by the slight headache he was getting because of it though, Harry thought it would be awhile before he could learn it. Their team's role in this, well Knov's role really, was to gather information about the royal palace and the disposition of the soldiers.

As for Morel, Shoot and Knuckle they took an overland route, taking advantage of the dense forests and mountain ranges all along the border to sneak in. What they were in charge of was hunting down any Chimera Ants that they could find within the country while also doing the same thing as Kite's team as they traveled towards the country's interior.

After entering Knov's dimensional space Harry wasn't really sure what the situation was for several days until Knov finally called upon him and Palm for their part of the operation, their goal? Infiltrating the King's palace. In the time that the two had been isolated in the dimensional space Knov had actually met up with Morel's group, though none of them decided to enter the space until then. The three plus Knov managed to deal several Chimera Ant squad leaders along with a large number of human soldiers controlled by some kind of puppet based _Hatsu_ , likely from one of the royal guard, over the time they had been separated. Morel, Knuckle and Shoot, after saying their hellos, were now resting in a different room of Knov's space.

Finally, it was Harry's team's turn. For this part of their operation their team would be split in two. Knov and Harry would physically infiltrate the palace as they both had skill and experience in doing similar tasks and their different teleportation abilities gave each a "safety net" for the other as it were. Palm for her part would use her Merman Clairvoyance, a _Nen_ ability to allow her to remotely view targets she had previously seen, to track the them, watching their backs for any sneak attacks or hidden enemies. It was a sound strategy as Harry and Knov could cover for each other's weaknesses and Palm would be able to report any information they found in case they didn't make it out alive. Originally it had been planned to let Palm infiltrate the palace with a civilian disguise so as to spy on the King and his guards but Harry had managed to point out the flaws in that idea, mainly that she didn't have experience as a spy and would have to maintain cover against Chimera Ants (especially the Royal Guard) and they had no idea what powers they created to protect their King. While their new plan wasn't without its own risks it was still better than the old one so it was what they were going with.

When Harry and Knov were deposited back into the real world they were greeted by near perfect conditions for infiltration. An overcast sky, lots of rain, a sun that was close to setting and a complete lack of Pitou's monstrous _En_ coverage. Thanks to Harry's own teleportation ability, the first leg of their trip was easy as he was able to transport them across the dead zone around the palace in record time. Knov instantly created a waypoint for his portals as a failsafe in case the worst happened and they had to retreat after Harry did that. With that taken care of the two snuck further into the palace through traditional means (Harry couldn't accurately teleport to places he couldn't see/remember and ending up inside a wall was bad), though not before taking notice of the large trees full of Chimera Ant/Human hybrid eggs (something that both made mental notes to burn when they got a chance). Fortunately for them, the palace seemed almost entirely empty so they remained unmolested as they traveled deeper into the interior, Knov setting up 2 more potential exits along the way. When they drew near the central stairway they finally ran into their first Chimera Ant, which Knov dispatched quickly, silently and without barely even a pause in his running with a clever use of his ability (he teleported the Chimera Ant's head and nothing else).

Harry could tell the stress was getting to him at that point though, not that he could blame him, but they had to keep moving so he did his best to calm the older Hunter down. Thankfully it worked, though only slightly, and the two made it to the central staircase. It was here however that they finally ran out of luck. An extremely evil feeling aura, on par with that of Pitou's, was at the top of the staircase and slowly making its way down, oozing like it was made of oil. That meant that one of the other royal guards was finally deploying their _En_ and the two infiltrators had no hope of going further without getting caught. Knov seemed to break down at feeling the aura up close for the first so Harry had to snap him out of it and force him to create an exit at the bottom of the staircase, which they promptly used to bug out of there.

When they arrived back in the dimensional space Knov was suffering a full blown panic attack, to such an extent that his hair was turning white at a visible pace. Harry was fairing much better, having already experienced the full wait of a similar aura once before, but he didn't really have much experience with comforting people so he didn't know what to do. Nor was he really sure he wanted to really as it was kind of pathetic seeing the man breakdown so easily and didn't think he'd be too reliable in a fight as a result. Thankfully Palm was there and she both knew how to comfort Knov but wanted to as well. Apparently the woman was a bit infatuated with her teacher and knew enough about him to help him stabilize his condition. It was clear he was out of the fight now and they would have to rethink the teams.

Harry might be wrong about Knov tapping out as they still had a few more days until the operation was due to start but he didn't think he was. Morel didn't either when he showed up. The new teams, after a bit of discussion, would be Harry and Morel against Shaiapouf and Knuckle, Shoot and Palm against Youpi. Pitou's team remained the same. Seeing as they had a couple more days before the plan was a go the Hunters in Knov's dimension settled in for a long rest so they'd be a peak performance for their upcoming fights.

When the time finally came for the operation those in Knov's technique had a bit of surprise in the form of Kite, Gon and Killua bringing in some Chimera Ant friends to help. One was chameleon based and had a useful ability to turn invisible using _Nen_ while the other was octopus based, though he hated being called one for an odd reason, and had the ability to take over bodies. After a brief discussion It was decided that the chameleon, whose name was Meleoron, would work with Knuckle to better enable the use of his _Nen_ sealing technique (invisible APR was hacks) while the octopus, whose name was Ikalgo, was going to work on his own to infiltrate other parts of the palace and deal with the remaining soldier ants and burn the human/Chimera Ant hybrids so they couldn't spawn more enemies.

In the end Knov didn't recover enough to be able to fight with them, as they had expected, so the new distribution was confirmed. Thankfully Knov hadn't been completely useless after the infiltration, having kept an eye on the palace and feeding them information while they had waited the past two days so they at least knew about (one of) Pouf's abilities.

When the clock finally struck midnight the operation was a go and the teams stepped through the portal leading to the central staircase. What they walked into wasn't an empty staircase however, instead one of their targets, Youpi, was waiting there. Despite the surprise none of the Hunters panicked and the kept moving forward, even as Youpi transformed himself into a monstrous multi-armed creature. Shoot was preparing to draw the royal guard's attention to allow the invisible, thanks to Meleoron's ability, Knuckle to get close enough to use his _Hatsu_ when it happened. Out of nowhere what seemed to be a meteor shower made of _Nen_ hit the palace, something that both Harry and Killua could recognize as their grandfather's Dragon Dive. That shock would have frozen the group if Harry hadn't mentioned that Silva told him that Zeno was helping the chairman with this hope.

Thanks to that all the groups continued onwards, despite the fear about Knuckle and Meleoron possible getting hit while under invisibility. Their fears turned out to be unfounded as Youpi was punched aside as Gon drew near and APR was activated, though like Knuckle it remained invisible thanks to Meleoron. The team of Gon, Killua and Kite took the opportunity where Youpi was distracted to run past the creature while Shoot and Palm moved block the Chimera Ant as per their plan. Morel and Harry were closer to the bottom of the stairs, having been the last to leave the portal and thus the ones at the back of the pack as it were.

Youpi, after getting over his brief confusion over Knuckle's blow, was quick to react to the changed situation and transformed once more. This time his head was what changed, turning into a bulbous lump of way too many eyes likely in an attempt to see Knuckle if he attacked again. The group barely had time to process that fact however, before they felt the full force of Pitou's _En_ crash down on them. The sensation caused only a momentary bit of hesitation in them all, even those who had experienced it before, but it was long enough for Youpi to capitalize on. Using that brief moment where they were distracted the Chimera Ant completely collapsed the main staircase with a (literal) hammer blow from his fists. Morel, Harry, Palm and Shoot ended up stranded on the bottom floor once the dust settled (unless Harry teleported them up) while Kite, Gon, Killua and possibly Knuckle/Meleoron made it to the second floor.

Morel activated his smoke based _Hatsu_ , Deep Purple (which made dozens of soldiers out of smoke), at that point and sent them at Youpi in order to distract Youpi and give Knuckle an opportunity to land another hit (and thus build APR). Harry followed suit with his Los Lobos, sending 20 large Dire wolves along with the soldiers, having learned to up his numbers over the past month. They were taken care of in a matter of seconds unfortunately and Morel was forced use his Pipe as part of another distraction (a smoke clone) but it worked. After Youpi was distracted by the second invisible body blow from Knuckle Harry teleported to the Pipe and quickly grabbed before again using the ability to catch up to Morel, handing over the man's weapon as they continued to run off towards their target. Neither liked leaving the others behind but that was always the plan and they had a job to do so they didn't let their feelings influence their actions.

The pair made their way to the throne room, where their target was currently located according to Morel's smoke creations. Somehow they managed to make it without running into a single enemy so when they were greeted by the sight of their target they were still (relatively) fresh. Shaiapouf, as it turned out, was a very elegant looking "man", complete with dress shirt and pants making him look like a person of high society and not even his wings or malicious aura detracted from that impression. Despite his delicate appearance however, neither Harry not Morel entertained any thoughts that he was weaker than Youpi. Morel was quick to summon up his smoke to create a barrier around the three of them, keeping Shaiapouf from running (or rather flying) to the King's aid while also locking the two Hunters inside with an opponent neither were sure they could match. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Shaiapouf seemed uninterested in attacking them instead asking the two a question in a bland tone of voice.

"Is it truly possible to trap me in one place? Why don't we find out?"

Harry subtly tensed at the creature's words, even as he took note of the wing scales he was shedding into the air. Knov had mentioned their ability to hypnotize people which was why Morel and Harry were the two now dealing this particular royal guard. Morel because he had a truly monstrous lung capacity and Harry because his immunity to all kind of poisons and chemical agents (including hallucinogenics like the scales) was off the charts thanks to his training. Well that and because he could also teleport out to get fresh air if needed.

"You seem to not want to talk. I would expect that of anyone with considerable power with hostile intent, however… I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Shaiapouf, one of the King's royal guard."

Neither of the Hunters were willing to waste their breath with a response, despite the potentially genuine display of good manners from the ant.

"You won't tell me your names? If you believe that I'm trying to trick you into inhaling my wing scale, you're sadly mistaken and, to be honest, I'm a little shocked." Pouf seemed generally affronted as he said that, though his expression turned strange after a few more seconds of silence. "After a rebirth… all will be forgotten."

With those words Shaiapouf's wings turned into multiple brownish tentacles that quickly covered him like a cocoon. "I'll need you to wait a moment. Hehehehahaeheha."

Neither of Harry nor Morel were particularly bothered by the development, despite the rather disturbing (and insane) sounding laughter from the creature. The whole point of their operation was to keep the royal guards from helping their King after all and if Shaiapouf wanted to kill time playing mind games then they'd let him. Sure the danger of leaving him alone was potentially disastrous but it was worth it in the long run to leave him alone for now. For a few minutes they remained in that standoff situation with nothing changing, until something unpleasant occurred. Youpi had shown up outside the barrier calling for the other royal guards or the King. That meant one of two things, either he had ditched Knuckle, Shoot and Palm or all three had been defeated. Neither were good options and, after getting a look from Morel, Harry teleported out to investigate, knowing they couldn't let Youpi roam free.

Instead of teleporting right outside the barrier however, Harry instead went back to the main staircase to check on the situation. The good news was that no one was dead and Knuckle was still up and running. The bad news was that Shoot and Palm were down for the count. After popping back and informing Morel of this the older Hunter sent Harry back out to help Knuckle as needed to distract Youpi while he remained there with Shaiapouf.

After a brief moment's hesitation Harry agreed and returned back to the main staircase, where he helped move Palm and Shoot to an out of the way part of the palace where they hoped Knov would eventually pick them up (they couldn't enter Knov's space without him nearby unfortunately). Following that Harry grabbed hold of Knuckle and teleported near the throne room, a rough plan already forming in his mind. His idea was to use his Los Lobos to launch distractions while he teleported Knuckle into Youpi's guard so he could land more blows and build up APR. Of course when they showed up Youpi had already left the area around the throne room so he had time to inform Knuckle of his plan as they tracked him down on foot.

Thankfully Youpi didn't get far and they quickly caught up the monster. Of course what they weren't expecting was him to go mad (in multiple ways) and morph his body into a form that literally crushed the entire room the caught up to him, including the ones directly around and below him. They only avoided taking damage thanks to Harry's quick reaction with using his teleportation, otherwise APR might have been reset from Youpi "returning" the interest. That wasn't the end of it however as Youpi's form continued to grow larger and become more grotesque until he blew up in a rage… literally. The explosion was massive and when the smoke cleared all that was left of the entrance building was a smoking crater in the ground. Harry was more than a little unnerved by the display, not knowing how effective his own _Hatsu_ would be on someone that seemed to be able to make their body explode without suffering consequences. Knuckle on the other hand grew confident, actually stating his belief that they could win the fight after witnessing Youpi's rage. After hearing his plan (which was basically use his anger induced stupidity against him) Harry decided to defer to his judgement on the matter.

Unfortunately, they ended up giving the beast too little credit as it managed to trick them into believing it had lost control of his rage, when in fact he was almost entirely calm and in control. As a result, when they tried to take advantage of an opening they thought Youpi left they were nearly skewered, the only thing that saved them was Harry's teleportation, though they didn't emerge unscathed as Youpi was able to rip out a chunk out of Harry's side when he shielded Knuckle. Knuckle was honestly too important to get hit like that thanks to his _Hatsu_ otherwise Harry wouldn't have bothered but without getting rid of Youpi's _Nen_ they didn't stand a chance.

Bad news came in pairs however as Morel didn't seem to have any better luck than they had as when they ran into him outside where his barrier had been (where Harry had teleported them too) he was sans a pipe and Shaiapouf was nowhere in sight. The only good news was that Morel had activated Deep Purple beforehand so he wasn't completely helpless yet. Though when Youpi showed up not a few seconds later Harry didn't think the smoke soldiers would last very long. Combat was started almost instantly, with Morel sending in his Deep Purple after making them take the forms of Knuckle and Harry as a means of protecting the real ones. Harry added his own efforts by summoning up his maximum number of wolves, an even 20 before activating his newest _Hatsu_.

" **Possession: Loup Garou!"**

This technique was one Harry had come up with after seeing Killua's Godspeed and how it drastically increased his brother's physical abilities. After activating it Harry started to slowly be covered in silver fur made of aura (he didn't like how he looked in Green so he changed the color) at the same time his body started growing and bulking up slightly, his hands and feet grew claws, his teeth turned into points and his eyes went blood red. This technique was a mixture of Zoldyck body control/modification techniques and _Nen_ that resulted in Harry's speed, strength and durability increasing by roughly 2- 2.5 times. The downside of this technique was that it burned through his physical stamina and his aura at an accelerated rate and also made his mind more feral. He didn't lose his ability to think but he got much more aggressive and prone to anger while "possessed." Still Harry thought it was good technique regardless and it quickly proved its use as he got up close and personal with Youpi.

Let it be said right from the beginning that if it wasn't for Morel's Deep Purple that Harry would have died right at the beginning of the fight. Despite the enhancements his new technique gave him he was still outclassed by Youpi in every way, though it took a near death experience for him to realize that fact through his altered mind. Harry, immediacy after activating his technique, had charged at Youpi in a straight line, ignoring the ease at which the monster struck down the smoke clones and his own summoned Dire wolves. He had thought him sufficiently distracted so that he could rip off one of the royal guard's legs, he was wrong. As soon as he got within range and launch himself forward Youpi swiped at him with his whip arm at speeds that Harry could barely even seen. If not for one of Morel's clones being nearby and the man himself making it pull Harry back, he would have been cleaved from hip to shoulder. As it was he now had a gash from his left shoulder all the way down to his right hip deep enough to see his bones. Harry cooled off a bit at that, the threat to his life serving to break through even his more feral state of mind.

"You back to normal there kid!? If so next time think before you attack you idiot! I might not be able to save you next time!"

Harry just growled at the man, though the fact that he backed off and started circling Youpi like a professional assassin (or a wolf) soon after was proof enough that he had. As Harry waited for his opening he continued to create more of his wolves to help offset the continuous losses from Deep Purple. Despite his efforts however they continued to drop like flies and neither Harry, nor Knuckle, were able to find a chance to attack yet. The delaying tactic was working though as APR continued to rack up debt but at the rate it was going (and the numbers it was reaching) it didn't look like it would be fast enough. Soon enough all the clones were dead and Harry was running on fumes. Knuckle however, was safe, having been directed by Morel to leave the area in the confusion of the fight. Or at least this was what they said out loud in the hopes of Youpi trigging his explosive temper. It worked.

With a soul-tearing scream of rage Youpi morphed into a massive ball of barely contained explosive force, this time his sanity actually been robbed momentarily. With such a large opening Knuckle managed to land a clean blow before the Chimera Ant was set off and Harry was not far behind. Knowing this would likely be the only blow he would ever land on the monster Harry made it the best he could. Even as Harry charged at Youpi full speed (only a second behind Knuckle's own charge) he activated his other perfect Hatsu, Fenrir. Unlike when he used it against Palm his technique was now fully stable so he wouldn't waste any of the power nor damage himself when he landed his hit. So when Harry, still looking like a pseudo-werewolf and bathed in ethereal green aura, landed his punch at Youpi, the bus sized image of a wolf howling in absolute hatred as he did so, the explosion was massive. It couldn't compare with Youpi's own explosions and he couldn't tell how much damage he did before he ran off to joining the other two Hunters at a comfortable distance away from the rampaging royal guard but Harry was happy none the less.

The good news was that not only did APR increase but Harry's attack left a fist sized whole in Youpi's stomach. The bad news was that the monster instantly healed himself and Harry's Loup Garou transformation had run out. The worse news was that Youpi somehow managed to master his new power, transforming himself to a hideous caricature of a centaur in the process. Youpi proceeded to chase them down after that, or at least the few remaining smoke clones of them, taking extra care to skewer the Harry clones extra viciously, even as APR ticked up to massive levels behind him. It wasn't enough.

The clones were gone, Youpi appeared to have endless aura reserves as APR still hadn't bankrupted him and Morel was down for the count in terms of aura and stamina. Were it not for Harry, the older Hunter would have been easy pickings for the royal guard as he tried to cut them down, Knuckle having disappeared at their earlier behests in order to keep APR up. With his ability to teleport Harry managed to keep both Morel and himself safe when Youpi went in for the kill the first, though he ended up with a deep gash across his face for his troubles. Thankfully Youpi's arm-blade missed his eyes and instead cut across his cheeks and bridge of his nose instead, otherwise he couldn't keep up the deadly game of tag he had to play with the rage fueled creature. The next time he jumped he was suddenly missing a chunk of his thigh. The time after that, part of his left arm. On it on it went for more than a minute they played their deadly game of tag, each time leaving just a bit more of either Harry or Morel behind, until finally the young Hunter could feel himself reaching his limit.

Much like he had when he had run from Pitou over two months ago his senses were starting to shut down one by one and every time he teleported it was just a little bit later, until each teleport was a struggle. Youpi's blade continued to get closer and closer to permanently removing parts of his body at the same right. Harry was oh so tempted to simply teleport as far away as possible but he couldn't do that without letting Youpi go after Knuckle, or even the Gon, Killua or the other members of the group so that wasn't an option. He had to keep distracted the monster, it was his duty and the only thought that he could remember as his mind started to bake.

It was just as Harry's vision had gone almost entirely black and his body looked like it had goon through a blender, twice, that Knuckle did something both incredibly brave and extremely stupid. He stepped forward stating his intent to fight Youpi one-on-one instead of run if he let Harry and Morel go. Youpi declined, unwilling to let the two Hunters off, unless of course Knuckle got rid of APR. Morel tried to stop him, but Youpi managed to corner them, which forced Knuckle to dispel his _Hatsu_ lest he finally finish the two Hunters off. Harry barely noticed any of this, too busy keep himself conscious and, somehow, detecting attacks on his life in case he needed to teleport one last time. Surprisingly enough that didn't end up happening and, after a full thirty seconds of nothing happening, Harry finally collapsed. The last thing on his mind before unconsciousness took him was a vague impression of white and black hair and a feeling of apprehension.

 **AN: And thus ends the Chimera Ant Arc, hoped it wasn't too bad. Also hope you liked the additions to Harry's** _ **Hatsu**_ **that I made, I thought they were cool that's for sure. We have one more full chapter in Hunter x Hunter verse before moving onto HP world, at least that's what I have planned at the moment, I might add on another half chapter depending on where my writing takes me.**

 **Also for those who are curious there is nothing in canon about the fate of Greed Island one way or another but I personally doubt that a game that took that much time and effort to create would just end after its completed. Doubly so since the game also served as an alternate prison sentence for Razer and his minions, so my decision wasn't made totally for convenience sake in getting Kite healed.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading.**

 **-Monumentum**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hurrrayyy! I finally finished writing, god this was a slog. Btw yes, technically Killua had no sisters but both Alluka and Kalluto address themselves as and are addressed with female pronouns in Japanese as well as both of them wearing female clothing according to what I researched. Alluka does this out of preference while Kalluto does this because of a mix of jealously over Killua's love of Alluka and their mother's desire for a daughter. Hence it isn't wrong to call them his sisters as it is possible that they identify as female. It's kind of up to interpretation really (and no I didn't forget either of them existed). Also a bit of a look into what's happening in Harry Potter World this chapter for those that asked.**

When Harry next woke up he was once again in a hospital and roughly three days had passed since their fight against the Chimera Ants was resolved for good. The first thing he noticed was the pain and the second was that he was having a hard time focusing, like there was wool smothering his brain. Alone either of those two would have made it difficult for him to take stock of his condition and his new surroundings but together it was damn near impossible. Hell he was fighting just to stay awake, a fight he ended up losing after only a few minutes' worth of struggle. He didn't know how long he was unconscious after that but when he woke up next time he thought it was at least a few hours later. At least this time his brain wasn't as muddled and he was able to actually think, albeit with difficulty.

The first thing he took note of was his surroundings, which appeared to be a very standard hospital room albeit one on the higher end of the scale. The next thing he checked was his body, which if the pain was anything to go by was going to be a mess. He was right. There wasn't a part of his body that wasn't covered in bandages or casts, and from experience he could tell that he was lighter somehow, like he was missing some pieces. Considering how deep some of the wounds he got from Youpi were it made sense, he was definitely missing chunks of his muscles where he got sliced, possibly even parts of his bones or organs as well if he was unlucky. Without reading his medical sheet he couldn't tell for sure however. Other than that he could feel that his left arm was oddly stiff, beyond what was caused by the bandages. It was stiff as in he could still move it if he focused but it didn't respond very well to his commands, like something was running interference somehow. There might be others injuries that he couldn't figure out at the moment but for now that was it.

Thankfully he could still use _Nen_ without trouble, even if he could feel his aura levels were running low, so he had a way of attracting attention to his newly awoken status. He needed answers, and he need them now. He'd use his voice of course but it was kind of difficult to form words with a tube down his throat. After a brief moment of concentration Harry summoned up one of his wolves. As a testament to both his low aura levels and his addled brain the wolf he formed was both small (relatively), about the size of a border collie, and indistinct, like you were looking at it through blurry pair of glasses. Still it was enough for his purposes and, after mentally commanding his construct to open the door and bark, he quickly got the attention of someone in the hallway. Surprisingly, rather than that person being a doctor or nurse, it was instead a disheveled looking Knov, who was now missing all his hair rather than simply losing its color.

"Ah Harry, you're awake I see. I'm impressed, your doctor said you'd likely be out of it for another week."

"*Bark* *Bark*"

Knov raised an eyebrow at the _Nen_ wolf in confusion before looking back at Harry, upon which understanding blossomed in his eyes.

"Right, the breathing tube. Kind of hard to talk with that in huh?"

"*Bark*"

Knov sighed. "I assume you want to know what happened to the mission and the others before learning of your own injuries?"

"*Bark* *Bark* *Bark*"

Knov sighed again before starring at Harry with tired and sad eyes, something that instantly caused feelings of anxiety to shoot through his body.

"The good news first then. The King is dead, as are his royal guards and the vast majority of the other Chimera Ants. Certainly all those who wanted to kill and eat humans are now gone at the very least."

While Harry did think that was good news he didn't care about that right now, not liking the fact that Knov didn't mention the others before pausing. He had a really bad feeling about things now.

"As for the bad news… The Chairman and Ikalgo are dead." Harry's eyes widened in shock but before he could recover Knov carried on. "Gon, Kite and Palm all suffered terrible injuries and, in addition to extensive limb and organ damage, have fallen into comas that we aren't sure they'll wake up from." Harry's _Nen_ wolf started whining in response to its master's distress.

"As for your brother he's alive but he's down an eye and an arm. He woke up yesterday in fact but he disappeared soon after once he was left alone, no one has seen him since." Harry's eyes started watering as his wolf started whimpering in pain. Knov grimaced at that but carried on anyways intent on finishing his summary before moving on to details. "Morel is in better shape that you are but only slightly, he's still unconscious at the moment. The only ones to come out with only minor injuries are Meleoron and Knuckle. Neither are taking things very well however and I haven't seen them in days."

His piece said for the moment the room descended into an awkward silence as Harry' struggled to calm himself down but he found it difficult to do so. The death of the Chairman and Ikalgo didn't really bother him after the initial surprise as he barely knew either and was largely ambivalent to their fates. But the injuries everyone had suffered? That was another matter entirely.

Gon was his best friend, basically another (non-evil) brother, so hearing he was in a coma hurt, badly. The same could be said for his actual brother who was now crippled and had apparently run away. The only comfort he found in that regard was that he had an inkling on where Killua went. Kite he wasn't as close to as Gon or Killua but he had still been a sort of role model/friend so his state bothered him more than he'd like to admit, Morel was much the same. As for Palm she had become a decent friend equal to that of Kurapika and Leorio in his mind over the month lead up to their mission and the time they spent alone together once it started so her state hurt badly as well. What was even worse however was that he didn't even know the full extent of their injuries, just the general summary. Nor was he sure if he actually wanted to know.

It was a tense few minutes for Knov as he watched Harry struggle to keep his composure, feeling incredibly guilty as he did so and fearing that Harry would hate him for his cowardice. He was right to fear that as Harry **did** in fact hate him for that. He had chickened out of a mission that essentially decided the fate of humanity when children and his own student went in his place. It was possible that his help in the fighting would have done nothing to change the outcome, or have even made it worse. But his presence also could have made things better and Harry would never forgive him for that, even if he had to bury those feelings to get more information from the man. That and because even though he hated to admit it the man's _Hatsu_ had likely saved everyone's lives.

*Bark* Bark*"

"Do you want more details on the mission, their injuries or your own." Knov asked hesitantly.

"*Bark*"

"…The first one?"

*Bark*"

"…right. According to Knuckle after you collapsed Youpi was on top of you and Morel in an instant. Morel managed to save you from being beheaded by shielding you with his own body. Surprisingly enough Youpi didn't try again after that, instead using you two as hostages to get Knuckle to come out and dispel his APR." Harry looked at him blankly, causing Knov to cough uncomfortably at the implied statement of 'get on with it'.

"Ahem, well needless to say he did and for whatever reason Youpi left. By that point you were having a seizure and Knuckle didn't have time to figure it out as he was trying to get you and Morel to one of my portals. From there you were transported to the Hunter's Association personal hospital through another portal and have been here ever since."

*Grrroowwwllll*"

Knov looked at Harry's _Nen_ construct warily as it growled menacingly at him in response to his stalling on things he already knew. Once again clearing his throat nervously Knov continued his summary of events, this time leading with what Harry wanted to hear in the first place.

"Ok, ok. Not much is known about what happened during the fight against Pitou as the only one who could have answered our questions was your brother. What is known is that, much like with the other two Royal Guards, they didn't actually kill Pitou themselves and that the Ant left them alive for some reason. We believe that reason was because of the Little Flower nuclear bomb that the Chairman activated to kill the king but we aren't positive. It fits however as when their bodies were found along with the King's they all showed symptoms of heavy radiation sickness. Which meant they likely sensed him get caught and the blast and rushed over, disregarding everything else.

After you and Morel were dropped off Knuckle was the one to go back into the palace to look for, and if necessary provide aid, to your brother and his team. He eventually found them in the collapsed ruins of the main tower underneath several tons of rubble. Thankfully, with help from Meleoron, he was able to excavate them and bring them to my emergency portal where they then moved on to this hospital where they received treatment. It was touch and go for a while with them, with all of you in fact, but everyone obviously pulled through, though the long term damage remains unknown."

The room descended into silence after that as Harry processed the information, as scant as it was. Eventually however he directed his wolf to bark once again to prompt Knov to move on to another topic. He didn't want to learn about anyone's injuries in detail, not really, so instead got Knov to talk about his own instead after playing another round of guess what the wolf was saying.

"To put simply, you're a mess Harry." Harry's wolf growled in irritation causing Knov to clarify his answer. "In more detail. You are missing chunks of several of your organs, mainly your liver, kidneys and small intestine. This is going to make some of your biological functions suffer, most notably your processing of food and drink as you might guess. You also have 37 fractures in your body and several of those fractures were caused by the fact that you are now missing parts of your bone in those places, most notably in your right arm. The majority of your muscles suffered tearing with, again, chunks missing in places.

Like I stated earlier you also suffered a stroke though the doctors weren't sure what caused it beyond whatever happened to cause your last stay in a hospital. And they only figured that out thanks to your medical record. Now as for what the stroke caused damage wise the doctors weren't sure. They thought it highly likely for you to lose at least some motor control however, especially when combined with all the other injuries you suffered."

It wasn't really anything earth shattering or surprising, most of it being stuff he had already guessed he had suffered though the details were new. Still… hearing everything was a lot worse than doing a self-diagnosis and, coupled with everything else he learned, Harry was feeling tired. With a brief application of will Harry dismissed his wolf.

"Harry… are you ok?"

Harry obviously couldn't answer, nor did he want to even if he could, so he simply closed his eyes in response and tried to fall asleep. It served well enough to get his message across.

"Right, dumb question… I'll just leave then I guess. I'll come around again tomorrow. Now that you've woken up the doctors should be taking the tube out of your throat at some point soon and then we can have a proper conversation."

With that said Knov left Harry's room without further words. Harry was grateful, he didn't want to deal with the man any more. Knov was in for a rude surprise if he actually tried to talk to Harry tomorrow like he said, Harry had no kind words for cowards. Before Harry succumbed to sleep he sent a silent prayer to his brother, hoping that he was doing well and that what he had planned would work out without his or their sister's death. For if he was right, and he had gone to get Alluka to heal everyone, then the possibility of a blood bath occurring was high.

The next couple of days past in a dull sort of blur for Harry. With nothing to do but lay in bed and recover he was stuck watching TV, which he never really held much for, and thinking about things, mainly the future. The former he gave up on fairly quickly as the only thing interesting on was a bit of news about the election of a new Chairman, and some sort of expedition being formed by the Kakin Empire, and information was limited so it was the former he spent most of his time on. More specifically he was thinking about his promise with the Phantom Troupe. Depending on what Killua did it was possible his brother would have to go on the run with Alluka to keep her away from the family, especially if he was forced to reveal the privileges Nanika gave them.

If that happened, he wanted to go with them but the problem was that he would be breaking his word on the deals he made. Were it for any other group but the Spiders it wouldn't be a problem but it was them and he did not want that group chasing after them on top of their family doing so. It would be a recipe for disaster. He also couldn't bring Alluka to the Troupe either as who knew what they would do if they knew about her existence, assuming he could get Killua to agree to the idea in the first place. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place really as his personal desires battled pragmatism and hard logic.

In the end however logic prevailed and he, grudgingly, came to the decision to honor his agreement and not run off with Killua and Alluka if that's what they ended up doing. What tipped the scale was the fact that he also had made a promise to the Family as well and he knew that they wouldn't be lazy in tracking down Alluka if he joined them. Say what you will about Silva and Zeno but they were actually very lenient when it came to Killua, Harry as well to a lesser extent, and would likely only put a token effort into bringing Alluka back unless other factors were involved. Since they took contracts and promises incredibly seriously his going back on his word on the one he made with them would be one such factor.

Of course just because his father and grandfather were like that didn't mean Illumi would be the same. If anything he was the exact opposite and would hunt Killua to the ends of the Earth, relentlessly, if he became aware of his sway over Alluka/Nanika. In fact… Harry figured out what he was going to do. Once (if) Killua arrived with Alluka and healed him he would stall Illumi for them. Idly as he thought about his new family he couldn't help thinking about his old one and what they were doing. With the benefit of years away from them he had lost a lot of his initial anger he held towards them both. His twin sister he no longer blamed at all for what happened, realizing that she was just a young kid and likely couldn't have done anything anyways, though he no longer felt any love for her either. His birth father on the other hand was a much more complicated issue, one part of him was disgusted by his father's behavior and neglect while another now recognized that his father was very much a broken man. He just didn't seem able to cope with the loss of his wife/Harry's mother and the way he compensated just meant he wound up forgetting, or being unable to remember, Harry's existence. In the end he wasn't sure what his feelings were but that didn't stop him from wondering what was going on back in his old home.

* * *

"God damn it!" Willow cried out in frustration as she continued to run furiously through a damp forest somewhere in Europe. Angry red and sickly yellow spells bursting the ground and scarring the trees around her as she did so.

"Bombarda!" She shouted while pointing her wand behind her, not even bothering to turn her head to aim. It would just cause her to slow down and to stop running meant death. A strangled yelp of pain followed the sound of her spell impacting but Willow didn't have time to think about that minor victory as she was forced to dodge what she recognized as a Blood-boiling curse coming from her side instead.

"Fucking damn it!" She once more cried out in frustration as she was force to alter her escape route to avoid getting caught by the new group of Death Eaters. Her breath was coming in short ragged gasps by this point and her magic was running on fumes but she didn't stop running. To do so meant dying or worse, getting captured, and she would not go down like that. So she ran. She ran until she found the only escape route she had left that wasn't blocked off by Death Eaters, a cliff. Not even hesitating she dug deep into her remaining reserves and broke into a full sprint, leaping off the edge of the cliff and disappearing into the fog below much to her pursuer's frustration. Several of them broke out brooms from hidden storage spaces and took off after their target but by that point it was too late. Willow was a demon in the air and none could catch her there, especially with the added advantage of the fog so catching her was all but impossible.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fucking damn it!" Willow cursed with tears running down her eyes now that she had breathing room for the shock of the events of the last half an hour ago to come to the forefront of her mind. They were dead. Emmeline, Shacklebolt, Thomas and Felicia; her guards, her teachers, her friends, were dead. They were dead because of her, because Voldemort just would not leave her alone, because everyone she loved was cursed to die. They shouldn't have stayed behind to buy her time to escape, they didn't deserve their fate and she didn't deserve to live. It was her fault Voldemort was back after all, hers and Albus fucking Dumbledore. She may have failed to protect the Philosopher's stone in her 1st year but it was Dumbledore's fault that it was there in the first place, and his fault that it wasn't protected properly as well. Though even as she clung desperately to that excuse part of her mind placed all that the blame solely on herself. She knew, objectively, that none of this was actually her fault but most of the time she couldn't bring herself to fully accept that fact. Not when so many were dead and dying because of that one failure.

The 2nd Blood War hadn't started immediately after Voldemort stole the stone in her first year, the Dark Lord was too intelligent for that. Instead he spent half a year gathering his strength and bolstering his forces with the aid of the purloined stone. Willow cursed the day the Flamels ever made that bloody thing. The near infinite gold Voldemort could make, and then use, made sure that he had effectively bought the entire ministry as well as a large, large number of mercenaries and new followers. That was bad enough but the Elixir of Life was even worse than the infinite wealth. All of Voldemort's followers, all of them, were restored to their peak physical and magical prime by the liquid, meaning that Death Eater's like Bellatrix had all the experience and insanity of a several decades old dark witch in the body of a twenty-one-year-old. Not even the damage from Azkaban remained after the Elixir was used. Then there were its incredible healing properties that meant anything short of instant death was fixable. Put it all together and Voldemort was damn near unstoppable when he launched his coup of the ministry and declared war against Dumbledore and Muggleborns. And Willow Potter was Public Enemy Number 1. That been slightly more than a year ago and she had been on the run or in hiding ever since.

Dumbledore, despite the hit he took for the Philosopher's Stone debacle, was still the de facto leader of the Light and the rebellion against Voldemort's Ministry. As a result, he had been in charge of all decisions related to the, newly revealed, "Chosen One" and the resistance as a whole. Said decisions had kept her safe and given her quite the advanced level of magical ability but had also led to many incidents such as this one. None had resulted in a complete wipe out but several of her previous guards/teachers had died for her sake over the course of the last year. Shack and his group were just the longest lasting until now, as well as the ones she had been closest to. She had no friends her age, nor the ability to make any with the current climate, so they had managed to fill that role instead. And it hurt losing them, god did it hurt.

Everyone she ended up caring for ended up dead or as good as dead eventually. Shack, Emmeline, Thomas, Felicia, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, Dad… Harry. She was pretty much alone in the world now bar the strangers that Dumbledore would inevitably stick her with next. To be fair James was alive but… he had stopped seeing her as his daughter a while ago. She was simply Lily to him now and she was honestly glad Dumbledore kept him from seeing her once the war began again. As for Harry… she missed him even after all these years. She still hated herself for that incident to this day and prayed for a chance to see her brother again but they had also been left unanswered. Harry was simply gone and no one could find him, though only Sirius and Remus had bothered to even look after the first couple of months. James hadn't even noticed he was gone, simply adopting a glazed look in his eyes whenever she mentioned her twin before acting like he hadn't heard her. She missed him terrible though if she was being honest she actually thought it was a good thing that he wasn't here now, he would just end up dead like everyone else if he was.

The sound of lyrical and uplifting trilling brought Willow out of her thoughts.

"Hello Faux, come to collect me for the old wanker finally?"

Faux let out a low, sad, trill in response and Willow looked away blankly, tears gathering in her eyes.

"He let them die didn't he? He could have saved them but chose not to. He let them die…"

Again Faux let out a sad trill in response. Willow felt the hot, angry tears she had been trying to contain fall down her face once more at that. She knew why he was doing this, or at least thought she did. He was tempering her, molding her through loss and guilt so she would willingly sacrifice her life to stop Voldemort. Neither could live while the other survived after all, according to the Prophecy and despite how much Willow hated, absolutely hated, admitting it, it was working. She was running out of reasons to live and stubbornness and spite could only sustain her for so long before she gave up. Faux let out a comforting cooing noise that served to push back the dark thoughts temporarily but they would return, they always did.

"Thanks Faux… I guess I'm ready to head to my next cage then."

Faux gave a final sad trill as she grabbed a hold of the majestic bird and disappeared in a burst of fire. Her last thoughts before she was shuffled off into her new room by her new set of bodyguards was that she missed her brother.

* * *

Harry had been right about what Killua had been up to when he had up and disappeared as not 2 days after Harry woke up did his brother return, with Alluka in tow and completely devoid of injury. Killua made Nanika heal Gon, Kite, Palm and Morel first (in that order) before coming for him. Nanika and Alluka were asleep from the effort it took to heal the others at that point so he had to wait for her to wake up before it was his turn and he spent that time talking with his brother.

"So, did you make a deal or did you break her out?" Harry asked, his voice rough but still legible despite having only recently had a breathing tube shoved down it.

Killua grimaced. "If by deal you mean blackmail then yes I made a deal, though I ended up making a run for it fairly quickly despite it though."

Harry frowned. "Illumi?"

Killua nodded. "Yeah. I had to show a few of the privileges Nanika gave us in order to get Alluka out of her room. They were fine with me going in there to get healed but taking her to heal the others not so much. Illumi found out and well… you know how he is."

Harry let out a heavy breath. "Yeah, I do. How were everyone's reactions when they saw you by the way? I bet mother freaked out."

Killua gave a sharp bark of laughter. "Ha. That's an understatement. I had to shock her with electricity just to get her to let go long enough for me to meet Alluka. Dad and Grandfather were pretty calm about the whole thing surprisingly enough though. And Milluki well… he's our second least favorite sibling for a reason."

Harry hummed thoughtfully at that. "I see. What about Kalluto? You didn't mention her."

Killua shrugged, completely unconcerned about their sister. "Don't know, she wasn't there when I showed up. Probably on a job or something, I didn't ask."

Harry frowned at his brother. "You really should care more about her. She adores you, you know? And she's nowhere near as bad as Milluki, Illumi or Mom even if she does spend a lot of time with the latter."

Killua just shrugged again and Harry didn't press further. They had this conversation before only it was much more heated and ended up with a similar lack of result so it was pointless to push Killua on it. So instead Harry got back to more important matters. "So…how long do we have before he shows up?"

Killua frowned and thought about the question for a while before responding. "I'd say no more than four hours. I managed to create a lot of decoys and procure or disable the airships he could have taken but well, that wouldn't have stalled him for long. He knows what hospital we're at anyways. I did call in the Hunter Organization about him though, which is why I gave us four hours instead of two."

Harry grimaced, that wasn't a lot of time and he didn't like the odds of whatever Hunters decided to try and kill or capture Illumi. "That's not a lot of time."

Killua sighed. "No it isn't. I'll wake up Alluka in another two hours if she's not awake by then to heal you. I doubt that you can keep up with your body like this." Harry adopted a troubled look at his words, which Killua instantly noticed. "What's wrong?"

"Ah…I won't be coming with you even after I'm healed."

Killua's eyes widened in shock before he got angry, getting on his feet and gesticulating wildly at his brother. "What!? Why the hell not!?"

"I… made some deals that I can't back out of. If I do so and come with you, we won't be able to remain free for long."

Killua stilled. "What did you do."

"I called in the family to deal with the Chimera Ants as you know…as well as the Phantom Troupe."

Killua remained blank faced for a few seconds before he exploded in anger. "What the hell Harry!? What were you thinking!? Why the hell would you do something so stupid!?"

Getting angry in response to his brother's tirade Harry yelled back at him. "Because it was the only card I could play Killua! If the Chimera Ants had spread unchecked, it would have been a disaster! They needed to be stopped and once they learned _Nen_ I called the only people I knew could deal with them."

"You should have left it to the Hunter's Association!"

"Ten teams of Pro Hunters died to the Chimera Ants before they even learned to use _Nen_ Killua, how many do you think would have died after they did? There's barely more than a thousand pro Hunters while there were at least a couple of hundred remaining Chimera Ants. The odds were not in our favor. You should understand that right."

That got Killua to shut up with an audible click of his jaw. For several seconds he remained silent, not looking at Harry, before he responded. "You're right. It was a terrible decision but you weren't necessarily wrong to make it. I do want to know the exact deals you made however."

Letting out a relieved sigh Harry explained. "The deal I made with the family you already know, and you know that if I backed out to run with you they would track us down just to make me fulfil my side of the bargain." Killua nodded grudgingly, knowing that to be true. "As for the deal with the Troupe… it was to become a member of the Spiders for a full year and travel with them wherever they went."

Killua visibly reigned in his temper before he responded to that little bit of stupidity he just heard. "You're definitely an idiot Harry but I'm guessing they wouldn't take anything else for their deal?" Harry shook his head negatively. "Right… what's your plan then? Leave after you get healed?"

"Basically. I was going to stall Illumi for you though. Given how exhausted healing makes Nanika I doubt you'll be able to use her against Illumi in the near future and someone needs to give you a head start."

"…Can you handle him?"

Harry grimaced but eventually gave a shallow nod in response. "I'm not sure if I can beat him but I can defiantly keep him delayed long enough for you to get out of here so long as I'm healed."

Killua sighed heavily but remained silent, as did Harry, both young Zoldycks spending the next half hour of so simple letting their thoughts wonder. It was only when Alluka woke up did they finally break the silence and even then it was mostly speaking with Alluka rather than to each other. Killua wasn't giving Harry the silent treatment however, or vice versa, it was just that there was nothing left to say between them. Alluka/Nanika were very happy to see Harry and wouldn't stop talking however, though both were incredibly upset by his injuries like they had been when they saw Killua's for the first time. He didn't even need to ask to get healed, though he almost stopped her from doing so to keep his scars. He had thought they would have made him look cooler but thought better of it in the end.

Thankfully Alluka/Nanika didn't go to sleep after healing him, even though they were tired once again, so the three siblings managed to have a nice, normal conversation for the next half hour before Harry told them to leave. It took a bit of explaining on both Zoldyck brother's parts but they eventually managed to convince their sister that it was for the best. The sooner they left the more distance they put between themselves and Illumi after all. Harry ended up seeing them off at the front of the Hospital, Killua using Godspeed to move as quickly as possible, before he pulled up his phone and contacted the group that had declared they'd hunt down Illumi and to offer his services. Considering it sounded like they were getting slaughtered he wasn't surprised they didn't even mention his age when he did so, instead simply giving him the location of the current battle and telling him to get there quickly.

The good thing about Nanika's healing is that it was more akin reversing time to a state where the injury didn't exist rather than actual regeneration. This meant that Harry's aura levels were in peak condition in addition to his physical state. As this was Illumi he was going up against, he would need it. A five-minute sprint utilizing the city's buildings in lieu of a road later and Harry had arrived at the scene of carnage he had expected from his brother's work. Most of them were dead civilians with needles in their heads, Illumi's Needle People, while the remaining were likely Hunters, police and whoever was simply unlucky enough to get in the way.

"Yo Har. It's good to see you're all better now. Have you come to take me to Kil?" Illumi asked looking completely unfazed by the blood and bodies he was almost wading through as he walked towards Harry.

Harry frowned in distaste at that. "Illumi, it's unfortunate to see that nobody was capable of putting you down. And you should know the answer to that. Your hypnosis trick and the needle you put in my head will no longer work on me."

"Wow, that's great Har. I'm so proud of you, you're all grown up now." Illumi stated joyfully though his expression remained completely emotionless as he did so.

"Tch. Do you really have time to act to casually Illumi? After all…My wolves are hungry." At the command of Harry's will 25 Dire wolves appeared around him, growling menacingly at his brother and his corpse puppets.

Illumi adopted a mock shocked look on his face. "Oh wow, is this your _Hatsu_ Har? How splendid. You're almost as talented as Kil is with _Nen_."

Harry gave no response other than a snap of his fingers, the signal for his wolves to rip his enemies to shreds, which they did with reckless abandon. On one side was Illumi and about 50 Needle People, on the other Harry and 25 Dire Wolves. It was actually an interesting matchup as both Zoldycks used what amount as puppets as their primary style of fighting, and both viewed their puppets as disposable. Of course their differences were many. Besides the obvious physical differences between the techniques Harry fought with his puppets while Illumi hung back and watched in sadistic fascination as his toys were destroyed and destroyed others in turn. Another key difference that Illumi soon found out, was that Harry's puppets ere explosive.

With a series of explosions Harry sacrificed five wolves to take out double that amount of Needle People but more importantly, he opened a hole to Illumi, which he capitalized on immediately.

" **Possession: Loup Garou!"**

Harry's werewolf-esk transformation enveloped him and the boost to his physical abilities was enough for him to shoot past the Needle People who were trying to close the gap before he could get past. Illumi showed faint, but genuine, shock at both Harry's transformation and his sudden appearance right in front of him but didn't have time to give any mock praise for his ability before Harry was on him.

A quick command to his remaining wolves to explode saw the remaining Needle People down for the count so, with his back now secure, Harry launched a full frontal assault on his brother with savage abandon. A ferocious claw swipe from his left hand was barely avoided by Illumi, forcing him to guard against the front kick that followed it. Illumi however was a master assassin for a reason and was no slouch in the hand-to-hand combat department, not at all, so he was more than capable of matching Harry. Despite being forced to guard against Harry's kick it did no damage and Illumi was even able to turn into a partial grapple before Harry used Illumi's grip as leverage to launch a side kick at his head. Forced to let go of Harry's leg and dodge backwards lest he take unnecessary damage Illumi retaliated with a swipe kick to Harry's lower body, which he promptly avoiding by jumping over it.

Illumi, having foreseen this course of action had a follow up blow already prepared that Harry wasn't able to avoid. Illumi's straight punch knocked Harry a few meters backwards from the force but Harry's boosted durability and the fact he managed to put up his guard meant he took no damage. The problem was Illumi bought himself some breathing room, enough to whip out his main weapons in fact. A small wall of golden needles flew at Harry, none of them aimed at a non-lethal location surprisingly enough. Fortunately, Harry's speed was up to the task of dodging and he managed to do so without taking any more damage than some rips and tears in his clothes. More needle walls got thrown at Harry while the disturbing figures of around a hundred more Needle People were seen running in their disturbingly unnatural fashion into the park the brothers were fighting in.

To counter this Harry summoned up 25 more Dire wolves and set them to explode in the middle of the largest concentrations of the corpse puppets he could find. It served to reduce Illumi's dolls down to a mere twenty but Harry was unable to summon more wolves before they were upon him. Luckily the corpse puppets were not exactly intelligent without Illumi's direct oversight so instead of a professional assault Harry was confronted with what amounted to little more than a dogpile. Of course Illumi had continued to throw his needles at him so he was forced to cut his way out of that situation lest he die, literally.

Using the claws he had formed on both his hands, along with a bit of _Ryu_ , Harry swung his arms at speeds unable to be perceived by those without _Nen_ , serving to act almost like a buzz saw as he cut through limbs, torsos and heads to escape the corpse puppet dogpile. He didn't make it out unscathed however as Illumi had managed to tag him with a few of his needles before he escaped the situation. None of them landed in fatal locations thanks to some last minute dodging but Harry could feel his control over his body degrade slightly, obviously a result of Illumi's manipulator powers. He was quick to pull them out of his body but the delay, along with the delay caused by the Needle People attack, meant that Illumi managed to put some distance between them. Enough distance in fact that it would take Harry a few seconds to catch up. Considering that meant Illumi would likely be able to create more Needle People as a result Harry started swearing.

Without further hesitation he charged after his older brother as fast as he could, bridging the distance between them as fast as possible. Like he had thought however, given the high speeds both of them could travel at Illumi had gotten far enough away to run into more victims he could use for his _Hatsu._ This time however, instead of normal civilians they were fully kitted out police and swat officers. Harry was only a few meters away from Illumi when his brother's newly corpse puppets opened fire on him.

Never had Harry been so glad that he had an affinity for Enhancement near equal to that of a natural born one. Bullets hurt and Harry was positive that even with the boosted durability from _Ken_ and Possession he would have died from the shots that landed on his vulnerable points (like his eyes) were it not for the added boost Enhancers got to their durability. As it was he lost sight of his brother, literally, due to dealing with the bullet storm. Harry leapt away as quickly as possible from his position, summoning up his wolves to attack the Needle People while he focused on blinking away the black spots in his vision. It was only thanks to the heightened senses from his transformed state that Harry managed to keep his head attached to his body when illumi launched a sneak attack on him while he did so.

"Fuck, you're not playing around are you Illumi."

"Language Har. And of course not, you're a grown up now and are no longer a child, why would I hold back?" Illumi said with a slightly tilted head, his eyes devoid of any light or emotions.

Harry grunted as he continued dodging or blocking his brother's blows and the occasional gun shots from the Needle People below. "Right, I forget how messed up in the head you are."

Illumi continued to talked to him with the same exact expression on his face and confused tilt to his head, even as he launched knife strikes and full powered kicks to Harry's vitals. "That's not very nice Har."

Dodging under a side kick to his throat Harry finally managed to launch a counter attack and start his own attack rhythm once more, secretly creating a handful of his wolves behind his brother as he did so. Illumi easily deflected Harry's claw swipe to his face and jumped over the lounge from one of his wolves, though he became airborne as a result. While in midair he managed to punch the second wolf to attack away but was unable to avoid the third wolf's biting into Illumi's shoulder. His brother had only a moment to stare blankly at Harry's _Nen_ beast before the wolf exploded.

See something Harry had thought about while he had been laid up in his hospital bed was about how he created his wolves. He always did it with their feet on the ground out of the simple thought process that wolves couldn't move without a surface to run on and thus should be summoned on the ground where they could. While Harry hadn't made it so his wolves can run on air or other cool things like that (yet) he had easily learned how to summon his wolves several meters in the air around him. It was generally useless to do so as it left them pretty much vulnerable until they landed but as a surprise attack where one was summoned above his opponent? All his wolf needed to do was let gravity do the work and for Harry to keep his enemy and place and it couldn't be easily predicted or avoided as a result, as Illumi found it to his detriment.

Of course Harry didn't think his brother was finished with that move alone and didn't even wait for the smoke to clear to continue his assault. Summoning up another round of wolves Harry and his full pack pounced (all the Needle People having been taken care of once more). The half feral Harry and his wolves started ripping Illumi into shreds before he had time to even realize what was happening. After half a minute of this Harry felt his brother still and stopped his attack in response, knowing Illumi to finally be dead. When the smoke from the initial explosion finally cleared Harry stared at the mutilated body of his brother with complicated feelings. He wasn't really sure what to think about this development but didn't get a chance to sort through his feelings before his phone rang. Deciding to answer it believing it to be Killua, Harry felt his blood run cold when that was proven to not be the case.

"Wow, you're so mean Har. I can't believe what a splendid killer you've become. Mother would be so proud."

"Illumi!? What, but I killed you!"

"Hmm? But you didn't you know? You did end up ruining my favorite puppet though, do you know how long it took to make him? Now I'm going to have to make a new one from scratch all over again."

"Puppet…?" Harry didn't understand until something clicked for him. "You… you somehow managed to create a puppet of yourself didn't you."

"Bin-bon. You sure are smart Har. That's right but I don't have time to explain anymore, I can see Kil in the distance so I have to go. Bye bye."

"Wait!" But it was too late, Illumi had hung up the phone and presumably gone to confront Killua. The only consolation that Harry had was the fact that Alluka was awake and it was possible Killua could just order Nanika to send Illumi to another continent or something similar. Unfortunately, he knew Killua wouldn't order Nanika to actually kill Illumi, if only because of the trauma that would cause Alluka. Their sister loved all their familiar regardless of how they treated her and would hate for them to die, she simply loved Killua and him more. Not that the rest of their family knew that of course.

Letting out an explosive sigh Harry took a look at his surroundings, noting the mangled bodies of thirty odd police and swat officers near their cordon and all the damage his fighting had caused. There were a large number of bullet holes, scorch marks, broken windows and shattered concrete. Honestly it looked like a warzone in miniature and Harry knew it was not a good place to linger unless he wanted to be charged with multiple-homicides. "My brother turned them into puppets with needles" was not going to be a good defense for his innocence unless he wanted to plead insanity.

When he arrived back at the hospital (he had nowhere else to go at the moment really) he was greeted with the sight of a very annoyed Morel along with the rest of the Chimera Ant team. Apparently none of them knew where he or Killua had went, nor did they understand how they were all healed, and were sort of panicking. Everyone but Gon of course who was Killua had left a note for. After calming down the others, and offering vague explanations/lies about what happened, Harry pulled gone to the side to have a private conversation.

"Did Killua's note tell you what happened?"

Gon nodded. "mhm, pretty much. Why didn't you go with him?"

"Couldn't, have obligations I need to fulfill and not doing so would just make Killua's efforts worthless in the long run."

"Does that mean you're leaving too then?" Harry nodded. "Are you going come with me to meet Killua before that?"

He shook his head. "No, I said my goodbyes already. I only came back here to say goodbye you and the others if I'm being honest."

"ah…" Gon trailed off somewhat sadly.

"Cheer up Gon, it's not like we'll stop being friends just because we're all separating. Besides don't you want to see your dad? I saw him on the TV you know, he's at the Hunter Association HQ for the new Chairman election if you want to catch him. I'm fairly certain that if you go you'll end up talking him into taking you with him on his next adventure and I doubt he'd take me and Killua with him even if we showed up anyways."

"Yeah you're probably right…I'll miss you though. Killua as well."

Harry felt a bit uncomfortable at the sheer, blunt honesty in Gon's voice as well as the way he said that. Sometimes he wished Gon understood what he was saying could be mistaken as. "Me too Gon. Still, we'll meet up again someday. And when we do you better have something cooler than Rock Paper Scissors for your _Hatsu_." He finished with a smirk.

Gon grew a tick mark on his forward. "My JaJanken is cool! It's better than yours!" Harry just raised an eyebrow archly, causing Gon to deflate. "Ok maybe not better than yours but It's still cool!"

Harry shrugged as he smirked at his best friend. "Whatever you say Gon."

Gon pouted. "You're mean Harry."

Again Harry just shrugged and the two descended into a comfortable silence for a few moments. Eventually however Harry decided to leave, there was no point sticking around longer.

"See you around Gon. Take care of yourself alight? You won't have me or Killua to bail your ass out of trouble now and I don't want to see you wind up in a hospital again because we weren't there."

"You're one to talk!"

"Haha, true, true…. Goodbye Gon."

"Bye Harry."

With his goodbyes said Harry disappeared into the city, finding a nice secluded roof from which to perform his next unpleasant task, calling Phinks.

"It's me. My missions done and I'm out of the hospital, where do I need to meet you."

"Yo, glad you didn't back out of our deal brat. We're meeting up at Heaven's Arena to watch Hisoka die fighting against Chrollo, be here in two days and we'll get you a ticket." Harry's blood ran cold at that piece of news. Chrollo was free from Kurapika's _Hatsu_ somehow, that meant the Troupe was now under his command again.

"ah… he doesn't hold grudges does he?"

Phinks snorted. "Of course he does, but you're going to be a Spider now and as long as you don't betray us neither he nor we will do anything to you. Well nothing that you won't recover from at any rate. Keep that in mind and you'll be fine."

It was a good thing Harry hadn't been planning on betraying the Spider's in the first place then, unless they went after Killua or his friends of course. He may not like the gang of criminals but it wasn't to the point that he'd stick his neck out by working against them from the inside for no benefit.

"Yeah I got it. I wasn't stupid enough for that to cross my mind in the first place."

"Ha, that's one of the reasons why I like you kid. Remember, two days or we'll think you backed out of our deal."

"I'll be there."

Harry hung up the phone at that point and breathed out heavily. He just knew this was going to be a long year and that trying to leave the Spider's was going to be a difficult proposition. Thankfully they didn't actually know anything about his powers so he could use the element of surprise that gave him. He'd have to show them some of his ability however, he was certain about that, but he was good enough at lying that they wouldn't be able to find out what he was hiding now that Pakunoda was dead.

Deciding not to waste any time Harry quickly started making his way to Heaven's Arena by way of Airship. He ended up having to buy out an entire flight just to not have to wait a couple of hours for one headed his direction but he didn't care. It gave him plenty of room to practice his _Nen_ in peace and saved time after all. Not his personal _Hatsu_ unfortunately as he didn't really have room for that despite having the cabin to himself, instead he worked on Killua's. He'd been meaning to do so for a while but honestly he hadn't had the time if he wanted to avoid simply being a copy of his brother until he got further along with his own ability. He liked Los Lobos and what he's done with it and he would continue to use it as his main _Nen_ ability. The only reason why he was learning Godspeed (and eventually a few of the other _Hatsu_ he knows) was that it was more useful to have than to not. The fact that it looked cool was just a bonus. Of course it would take him a long time to get to level where that variant of the ability was possible even knowing exactly how Killua did it but that didn't matter to him much. He was pretty certain the Spider's tended to have a lot of downtime between jobs that he could use to train if he wanted.

After a rather long flight, during which Harry only managed to get to the level of turning his aura into a few sparks of electricity by poking his finger in an electrical socket (literally), Harry arrived at his destination. Considering he was a day early and that he didn't want to call Phinks again so soon he decided to make use of his abilities to sneak into the upper floors of the tower to look around. It was a surprise to see Zushi fighting on the 200th floor but he didn't stop to say hello for the same reason why he didn't do so with Wing. Shame mostly if he was being honest. Other than Zushi the only surprise was that both Hisoka and Chrollo were Floor Masters, though in hindsight that made more sense than them being regular fighters. He would have thought Hisoka would have lost that position for being away for so long though (he had been on Greed Island with them) but apparently not.

He looked around but didn't see any of the Troupe members in the tower but wasn't particularly bothered by that fact. He'd meet with them tomorrow after all and wasn't looking forward to it in the first place. For now, he'd crash in one of the empty rooms of the tower for the night. They were much better than those in any hotels and free to boot so why waste the money for a hotel? He didn't practice _Nen_ before bed however as doing so would undo his _Zetsu_ and he wanted to see if he could surprise the Spiders. It was a bit petty, and probably a bit stupid, to do so but he was willing to be childish in this one instance if it meant getting one over on his future "companions".

As it turned out he did, in fact, get the drop on the Troupe the next morning. Harry was positive if he had been trying to actually ambush them for an attack or something similar they would have felt his presence but since all he really wanted to do was sit down next to them he remained unnoticed. Until he dropped his _Zetsu_ of course. After he did that he learned that it was, in fact, a stupid decision to do this as Phinks nearly caved his head in due to his surprise.

"Wow I thought you'd be happy to see me. You were the one who wanted me to join your little boy band after all."

Phinks just raised an eyebrow and adopted a faint smirk in response to his attempt to rile him up, retaching his arm lazy from where it was embedded in the stone seat. "Glad to see you didn't chicken out at the last minute kid. Welcome to the Spiders, we'll do the whole orientation thing later, for now we got a fight to watch."

Phinks was the only one who gave Harry a verbal greeting however, the rest only a giving shallow nods of acknowledgement before turning their attention back to the arena. Considering that both Chrollo and Hisoka were walking out already he didn't blame them, he could feel the insane (literally insane in the case of Hisoka) blood lust being emitted by the both of them.

"Ladies and gentlemen…! The first challenger chosen by our indolent reaper for the Floor Master battle is also another Floor Master who will be facing his first of these matches. Allow us to introduce Hiiisssoookkkaaaa Moooorrroouuuu versus Chhhrrooolloooo Luuuucccciiifffeerrr!"

The whole stadium erupted in cheering at the MC's introduction as highlight reels for both fighters placed on the jumbo screens above the arena, and boy were they bloody. As the crowd calmed down slightly the conversation between Hisoka and Chrollo was picked up just at the right time to hear something that sent them into a frenzy again.

"Let's take this to a battle to the death." Chrollo said impassively.

"Ok." Was all Hisoka replied with other than his smirk.

After the MC decided to repeat what everyone just heard it was time for the match to begin. With a cry of "Fight!" both Hisoka and Chrollo summoned up their _Nen_ , Chrollo going so far as to summon up his _Hatsu._ Or what Harry thought was his _Hatsu_. He couldn't actually tell what the book in his hand was or where it came from. His Trait just refused to work on it. It was only when Chrollo summoned an antenna in his hand (which he promptly stabbed into the back of the referee's neck) that he realized why that was. Chrollo was a Specialist as well and could either Copy or Steal other people's _Hatsu_ with his Trait. It was an annoying and more than a bit frightening ability actually. If it was Copying Harry wouldn't particularly care beyond getting annoyed if he copying Los Lobos, he could technically do so himself with other's abilities after all. But if it was Stealing... Harry didn't want to lose all his blood, sweat and time he sunk into his personal _Hatsu_ , especially to someone like Chrollo.

He didn't have time to think about things further however as the fight started in earnest with the referee charging Hisoka like a rampaging bear, though he did idly note his Trait worked on the ability Chrollo was using at the moment. Hisoka was merciless of course and smacked the referee away like a piece of trash, though the move left him open for Chrollo himself to get in close and personal. The head of the Spiders managed to knock the clown into the air, where he proceeded to unleash a barrage of stomp kicks which Hisoka managed to guard against without taking damage. Unseen by Chrollo however was that while he was attacking Hisoka the clown had hooked his Bungee Gum onto the referee and was bringing him back in to attack like a human wrecking ball.

Chrollo managed to dodge the attack and the referee appeared to easily recover from his impromptu flight and resume attacking Hisoka. Unfortunately for the referee Hisoka didn't care that he was just a puppet and used a card to eviscerate the man, though that ended up being some sort of trap on Chrollo's part and Hisoka had to hastily use Bungee Gum to keep himself from being splattered by pulling it all back towards the referee's corpse.

The appearance of Sun and Moon, the new _Hatsu_ that Chrollo pulled out was interesting, as was the information Chrollo and Harry's Trait gave him about it. Sun and Moon imprinted a Sun (plus) to the user's left hand and the Moon (minus) to their right, allowing the user to put the symbols on objects they touch. When both the Sun and Moon touch an explosion occurs, hence why Hisoka avoided the referee's blood.

From that point on the warm up between the two fighters seemed to have ended and their death match began in full. Chrollo started pulling new abilities out one by one and using them in combination to launch unique attacks against Hisoka. There was also a lot, and Harry meant a lot, of talking between the two as Chrollo explained about his abilities. Harry found out he was right that Chrollo could steal _Hatsu_ abilities and that he was a Specialist as well, which made him distinctly uncomfortable much to the other Spider's amusement when they noticed. Still, eventually Chrollo decided to stop talking and take the fight completely seriously, though how that translated to taking it into the audience Harry didn't know.

The fact that Chrollo began to use said audience as tools to fight, and that Hisoka proceeded to rip them to pieces, wasn't as unsurprising however. It was terrible and Harry didn't like it but it was what he would have expected from the two psychopaths. Unfortunately, Harry could tell he was outclassed by the two so even if he wouldn't be stopped by the other Spider's he couldn't stop them anyways. Not without getting killed at any rate. Though the wall of human puppets reminded him way too much of his recent fight with Illumi for his tastes. He tried to get up to leave at that point but a look from Phinks told him not to so he got back in his seat with a disgruntled sigh.

Eventually Hisoka was forced to use Bungee Gum to escape from the stand lest he got mobbed but Chrollo's puppets followed him no problem. Hisoka managed to deal with the front runners easily enough but the opening he made doing so allowed Chrollo to land a brutal kick to the back of his head, knocking Hisoka back onto the ring. The clown had barely managed to get back to his feet before the crowd of puppets swarmed him from all sides. Hisoka managed to hold his own but the puppets would only be put down by decapitation so he ended up giving Chrollo another opening to attack. He managed to dodge it this time but it was a near thing and Hisoka didn't manage to counter attack before Chrollo faded into the crowd once more.

Eventually the crowd and Chrollo's ambushes backed Hisoka into a proverbial corner and the head of the Spider's managed to land an absolutely brutal blow on his former leg. He didn't get away scot free this time however as Hisoka managed to use Bungee Gum to smash a severed head into Chrollo's own head. He even followed it up with another attack to Chrollo's ribs which also landed, though failed to make him drop his Book. When the puppet horde attacked Hisoka once again the clown continued to his improvised weapon to great effect until all the puppets were down for the count.

By this point Chrollo had once again hidden himself in the audience, though this time it was Hisoka who utilized the audience as weapons against his opponent, using Bungee Gum to hurt them at Hisoka like human boulders. This tactic actually worked and it seemed like Hisoka managed to kill his former leader until it was another member of the audience with a _Nen_ based disguise on him. Chrollo seemed to have made good use of his time as a few moments after it was revealed he had escaped Hisoka another horde of human puppets charged in mass at the clown. This time the mob was absolutely massive, though judging by Hisoka's completely demeaned grin he didn't care at all, and was in fact enjoying being able to slaughter them. The multi-human Bungee hammer was a very interesting way to go about that process however, though it was surprisingly effective.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be enough as somehow Chrollo managed to cause Hisoka's left hand to explode, rendering it completely useless. From there the fight devolved into something straight out of a zombie movie as mountains and ladders of human puppets charged Hisoka who used his Bungee Gum to cling to the walls. This was part of Chrollo's plan however as a completely separate group of human puppets charged from the floor above Hisoka and, upon catching sight of the clown, detonated. Harry was extremely grateful that he was sitting on the very top floor of seating by this point. Somehow Hisoka survived the explosion with only minor damage, though the blast knocked him into the air. He attempted to use Bungee Gum to escape to the ceiling but the bottom right leg proceeded to explode, the delay stalling him just enough to prove fatal in the end.

When Chrollo through one of his puppets at Hisoka to keep him from successfully using Bungee Gum once more it gave just enough time for the mob of puppets to bury them beneath them, where upon the promptly exploded. The end result was a massive explosion and Hisoka turning a corpse. The match was obviously called at that point in Chrollo's favor and the Spider's promptly got up to leave, much to Harry's relief.

"So, what did you think of the fight kid." Phinks asked with dark humor in his voice.

Harry spared him a glare out of the corner of his eye before turning his expression impassive. "Chrollo fights like my brother."

"The kid? Didn't expect that from him if I'm being honest."

"No my older brother, Illumi."

Phinks sent Harry an appraising look. "I see." Apparently he knew who his older brother was, big surprise. Birds of a feather and all taht. Noticing three of the Spider's split off from the rest he asked Phinks where they were going so as to avoid the previous line of conversation.

"Them? They went to see Hisoka's body, why? You interested in going to?"

Harry paused for a moment before giving a split second decision. "Actually yeah, I am. Do you mind if I go?"

Phinks smirked. "Heh, knock yourself out kid, just make sure you stick next to Machi, the girl with the pink hair, alright. Don't want you to wander off now do we?"

Harry gave him a blank look. "I'm not a child and I'm not someone who goes back on their word."

Phinks just shrugged and Harry took that as his que to catch up with the three Troupe members who went to go examine Hisoka's body.

"What are you doing here kid?" Machi asked.

Harry shrugged. "Heard you were going to poke Hisoka's body with a stick and I thought that sounded fun."

Machi snorted. "Whatever, just don't get lost kid."

"Why do you all keep saying that?"

Machi raised an eyebrow at him. "Because you can teleport and Phinks basically backed you into a corner to get you to join."

' _Well…at least she has a point'_ Harry thought, deciding not to comment further on the topic. He was then introduced to both Kortopi, the creepy short one with long hair and giant eyes (though only one was visible), and Shalnark, the blonde with a devil-may care type attitude. Machi didn't do this of course, clearly not caring about Harry all that much, and Kortopi wasn't much of a talker so Shalnark lead the effort in that regard. Harry actually ended up kind of liking the older boy (or possible man, his age was hard to determine) as they talked for the next few minutes on their way to Hisoka's corpse. He had a very interesting sense of humor that Harry appreciate though his tangents on electronics and video games left Harry feeling lost. Eventually they arrived to where Hisoka's body was being stored and it wasn't pretty.

"You know, I kind of expected him to have taken more damage than this."

Harry had to agree with Machi. While Hisoka looked like a shredded mummy corpse he did not look like he had been smack dab in the middle of an explosion. All his (remaining) limbs were intact after all and he wasn't in itty bitty meat chunks.

"Before the explosive puppet could get to him, he was swarmed by 200 other puppets that had received the command to 'Break'. It seems they ended up serving to "cushion" him from the explosion somewhat. The wall of flesh piled on top of him along with the explosion caused the oxygen deprivation which resulted in his cause of death: suffocation."

"Huh… that's neat." That was all Harry could say to Shalnark's in depth analysis. "…He is dead though right? I mean you can technically be revived from suffocation after all. He won't rise up as zombie Hisoka or anything will he? Cause normal Hisoka is creepy enough in my opinion."

That caused the three Spiders to pause briefly and look at Hisoka with vaguely curious eyes. Machi, who was the Spider's medical specialist according to Shalnark, stepped forward to check. "Well he's got none of the usual symptoms of being alive and he's been down for a few minutes now, almost passed the safe range in fact, so it's not likely. As far as I'm aware Bungee Gum is his only _Hatsu_ ability as well, he shouldn't have anything that can bring him back to life."

That was good enough for Harry, Shalnark and Kortopi, and all three proceeded to leave the room, though they stopped when they noticed Machi wasn't moving.

"You're not coming back with us Machi?" Kortopi asked.

"We've already more than adequately confirmed his death." Shalnark added his two cents.

"Plus Phinks said I need to stick with you and I kind of don't want to be around Hisoka's rotting corpse any longer than I have to. I swear even in death he's staring at my ass." That caused all three of the Spider's to stare at him for a moment, to which he simply shrugged unrepentantly in response.

"…Well he did pay me in advance… I'm going to just stitch him up a bit then I'll be coming along."

The other two Spiders shrugged but Harry just stared at her blankly. "Ok can I ask why?" Machi just ignored him. "Really… you're ignoring me to stare at the creepy ass clown corpse? Do you have some sort of fetish I need to worry about? Or even worse did you actually like the nutjob?"

That provoked a reaction from Machi and she sent him a very unamused glare in response. At least Shalnark thought he was funny. "No, none of the above. But he did pay me and even though he is dead I'll honor the agreement we made."

"I don't understand why you made an agreement with the man who partially caused the death of two of your members and betrayed you all, even if he helped you exercise Kurapika's _Nen,_ but if you're staying so am I. And no it's not because I like you, I just don't want Phinks thinking I ran away so don't get a swollen ego. You all keep calling me a kid after all and he was the one who essentially decided that you would be my babysitter so…"

Machi frowned. "Fine, stick around if you want then. Don't let me keep you two though."

"Right, we'll catch up you later then." Was all Shalnark said as he left the room with Kortopi in tow.

Machi didn't bother to speaking to Harry further as she got to work on prettying up Hisoka's corpse, repairing the tears and his throat and the wounds on his face as best she could with needle and thread, which was surprisingly a lot considering said thread was made of _Nen_. Just as she finished however something happened, some sort of _Nen_ activated in Hisoka's body and it was setting off all the alarm bells in Harry's mind possible. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor when it comes to potentially having to face a zombified clown pedophile Harry went for the tried and true method of decapitation. Completely ignoring Machi shouting at him to wait Harry cleaved Hisoka's head from his body with a knife hand strike, which served to cancel whatever _Nen_ his corpse had been activating instantly.

"Why did you do that?" Machi asked in a slightly irritated tone of voice.

Harry just stared at her for a few moments before giving a completely logical (in his mind) reply. "I didn't want a Zombified clown pedophile after my ass." Machi deadpanned at him. "I'm technically being serious you know?" She continued to stare. "Ok fine then, do you really want Hisoka to potentially come back to life? Regardless of his method his brain has been without oxygen for how long?"

"7 minutes 13 seconds." Machi replied clinically.

"And brain death starts after 6 minutes right?" Machi nodded. "So either he really was about to turn into a zombie or he might have figured out a way to come back to life only to wind up with brain damage. Either way do you trust him not to go psycho clown and start killing people, people like you, me and your friends?"

Machi paused momentarily as she digested Harry's words before replying. "Good point… but now I have to sew his head back on. How annoying."

Harry just shrugged, not regretting his decision at all. He wasn't sure what she was complaining about anyways, it ended up taking her less than a minute to reattach Hisoka's head to his corpse after all, it wasn't that much work. Then again, maybe he was biased because of how interesting her _Hatsu_ was and didn't actually know how aura intensive it actually was. He definitely wanted to abuse the crap out of his trait to learn it if at all possible. After Machi was finished they proceed to leave the building and, after a few minutes of awkward silence, met up with Shalnark and Kortopi, the former of which had just gotten off the phone.

"Yo. You guys took longer than I thought, run into any trouble?" Shalnark asked.

Harry replied before Machi could. "Hisoka's corpse tried to come back to life so he could eat my ass."

Shalnark stared, Kortopi stared and Machi deadpanned before the former two looked towards the latter for clarification.

Heaving a sigh Machi gave a much more coherent answer than Harry. "I had just finished repairing Hisoka's corpse when some form of _Nen_ activated inside him. The kid here proceeded to decapitate Hisoka's corpse citing fear of the asinine reason he told you. It took another minute to sew his head back on, that's why we took so long."

The two other Spiders just nodded slowly before Shalnark turned to Harry with his usual smile back on his face. "I see… well good job kid though unfortunately killing a corpse gives you no bragging rights, even if it is Hisoka's."

Harry's eyebrow twitch. "First of all, my name is Harry not kid and I'd appreciate it if someone finally started using it. Second of all I don't care. I am not dealing with zombie Hisoka or Hisoka with brain damage if I can help it. Bragging rights are not needed to ensure my purity."

Shalnark shrugged in bemusement. "Sure thing Harry. By the way it was the boss who called just now, he's got our next job lined up for us already. Apparently the Kakin Royal Family is forming an expedition to the Dark Continent and are bringing along a bunch of rare treasure with them."

"I see; I'm assuming they're accepting passengers to travel with them then? Or are we sneaking aboard?"

"The former."

Harry had to interject at this point. "Wait, wait, wait. The Dark Continent? As in the place where the Chimera Ants I just got done dealing with are considered both common and a manageable threat compared to everything else? That Dark Continent?"

"Yup." Shalnark replied with a bright smile.

"…I think I'm starting to regret my decision to make a deal with Phinks."

"Tough, deal with it or back out and find out what happens." Machi said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Fine…" Harry huffed. "Do I have to get a tattoo? Cause that's about the only thing about you guys that's even a little bit cool in my opinion."

Machi sighed in exasperation while Shalnark laughed again. "Yeah, the tattoo is kind of a thing for us. Franklin will do it when we meet up with the others at some point."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "The one that's built like a tank?" An amused nod from Shalnark was his answer. "Huh… can never judge based on appearance can you."

"Enough of that, Shalnark when and where does the boss want us to meet?"

"Ah, he said to just meet on the boat. It leaves in about half a year so until then we're free to do whatever we want. Anyone have anything they want to do in while we're in the city?"

The other two spider's shook their head leaving Harry the only one to actually answer. "Actually I would like to buy some stuff that'll be useful if we're moving around a lot." That got Harry looks of mixed amusement and exasperation, which took him a while to figure out. "Oh right, group of thieves. Fine I'd like to steal some stuff, happy now?"

The only response he got was an amused shrug from Shalnark and both Machi and Kortopi turning around and starting to walk away. It was only when they walked down a street full of stores of all kinds did he realize that just because they were ignoring him didn't mean they weren't listening. He did end up having to steal what he wanted however as the group didn't stop long enough for him to buy what he wanted. Good thing his morality was screwed up enough that he didn't actually care all that much. In summation he got for himself a sturdy black backpack, several changes of clothes in his preferred colors (green and black), a Taser plus a large number of batteries for his training with Killua's _Hatsu_ , and, just because he could, an MP3 (with headphones) and a sweet leather jacket. The jacket was black and had white semi-poufy fur patches around the neck/hoody and along the bottom of the torso and sleeves. It was warm, looked cool and hadn't even been for sale, he had to steal it off some annoying biker punk, which made it all the better. The Spiders' had looked at him in faint at amusement at that but made no comment, which was good because none of them had room to talk about his style preference given what they wore all the time.

Harry was grateful for the fact that, after that their "shopping trip", the group didn't completely ignore him anymore. He had had music to listen to (the MP3 he had stolen had come from a stranger with good taste in music) but he could only listen the music so longer before he got tried. He could have trained but he was uncomfortable doing that around his companions for obvious reason even if he could now do it on the move curtesy of his new Taser. Which meant he had been bored while the group randomly wandered the city for no apparent reason. When they had broken eventually into a nice (fortunately empty) mansion to spend the night in, he was finally deigned worthy of being spoken to once again and thus his boredom was cured somewhat. Apparently they had been testing him slightly with the whole silence thing, that or they were fucking with him, Harry wasn't sure. Either way once they bunked down all of them were willing to talk to him at least somewhat.

Machi still didn't like him and only spoke every now and again but Kortopi proved pretty interesting to speak to. He had an obsession with manga and anime that rivaled Shalnark's own with video games. Harry knew more about those topics than he did with Shalnark's interests, being a personal fan of manga (Bleach especially for obvious reasons) himself, which made those conversations very interesting. Though the shortest member of the Troupe was quite creepy and it made talking to him a bit awkward at times. Eventually however they moved off to separate rooms for the night and Harry spent several hours working on his _Nen_ before going to sleep. When he woke up next morning he knew he had passed another small test from the other Spiders by not trying to ditch them in the night. He had thought about it to be honest, the Troupe was supposedly headed to the Dark Continent in a few months and well… the journey would at the very least take them a long time to return from if it didn't kill them out right. He decided against it however for the simple reason that he was actually getting a bit curious about the mysterious land and wanted to see it for himself. Plus, there was the fact that there **was** that few months' time before they left, plenty of time to track him down if he pulled a runner. More importantly than all of that however was that something about the thought of the Dark Continent caused the magic in his body to throb, and it wasn't due to his simple curiousity.

That was enough of a reason for him to go there despite how he had acted previously about the idea and since he was already headed in the same direction it made no sense to go back on deal with them. Harry did idly wonder if he'd see Gon on the trip to the Dark Continent at some point. It did seem like something he would want to do, without even considering the fact that the Hunter Association, and thus Gon's father, will likely be all over this trip. It was a nice thought that turned a bit sour as he imagined how his friend would react to him joining the Troupe, even if it was temporary.

"What's got you so down kid? Your kind of killing my mood."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Machi. "You have a mood other than bland disinterest?" Que tick mark on the pinkette's face. "And if you must know I just realized that I've hit puberty and the tidal wave of angst has finally hit me."

That got a scoff from Machi and a laugh from Shalnark and Kortopi.

"So anyways what are we going to do until the trip to the Dark Continent? Are we going to meet up with everyone else before then or we just going to wander around doing nothing?"

It was Machi who answered his question. "Whatever we want really, and maybe. There's no set procedure for meeting up so we can do that whenever why?"

Harry shrugged. "I just wasn't expecting to be stuck with you guys when I came with to poke Hisoka's body… I could have phrased that better. What I meant is that I didn't expect Phinks to let me out from his sight for so long, dudes apparently invested in me and all that."

"I'm sure he'll call to arrange a meet up at some point. You do need to meet Franklin to get your mark at some point after all."

"Mk…then if no one else has a suggestion on where to go can I make one?" He got curious looks at that but no one spoke up to stop him. "Can we go to the cities with the top three tallest buildings in the world? I kind of wanted to see them at some point after visiting Heaven's Arena for the first time but never got the chance."

The three Spiders exchanged looks before shrugging in unison. "Sure kid, why not."

Harry glared at Machi. "You know I don't understand why you keep calling me kid, it's not like you're one to talk looking like that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Machi growled dangerously.

In response Harry just looked her up in down, serving to illustrate exactly what he meant by his words. Machi looked about ready to tear him a new asshole for the insult were it not for Shalnark stepping between them to calm her down. It took him a bit of effort but he managed it in the end without bloodshed, though Harry was pretty certain the pinkette was starting to hate him for real by this point from that comment alone. It was worth it though, for some reason getting a rise of the female spider was incredibly amusing to him. It was at this point Harry's phone rang and the message he got made him sigh tiredly.

"Right…question time. How much do you know about my family?"

"Nothing." Was the collection response. "And I don't care." Was Machi's follow up.

"Ok well to put simply I'm a Zoldyck, you guys should know what that means." He received wary nods in response, the Spider's most likely remembering the hit his dad did on one of them a few years back. "Anyways long story short I asked my family for help with the Ants at the same time as you guys and I had to promise to take a few contracts as payment. The message I got was the details of my first target."

"And I'm assuming you want us to head to their location so you can kill them then?" Shalnark asked.

Harry shrugged. "Basically, it's actually close by, only a city over. You can steal the guys stuff if you want, he's rich and supposed to be some sort of art collector in his spare time so he should have some good stuff."

The three Spiders held a silent conversation for a few moments before again they gave a collective shrug. "It's not a problem, though I do have to ask how many contracts you need to fulfill to complete your end of the deal."

"14 including this one."

"Not too bad then, alright lead the way then kid. And try not to take too long alright."

"Sure thing boss lady. Or should I call you boss girly on account of the fact puberty seems to have avoided you like the plague."

The look Machi gave him at that was an odd mix of a deadpan and a glare. "Boss girly…really?"

Harry shrugged uncomfortably in response. "Not my best work I admit but I couldn't think of anything better."

Machi sighed. "Whatever, let's just go."

That pretty much set the tone for the next six months as Harry, Machi, Shalnark and Kortopi randomly traveled the known world, fulfilling Harrys odd assassination mission or just seeing the sights. Their group of four ended becoming sort of official after they had met up with Phinks, Franklin, Feitan and Nobunaga about two weeks after they had separated at Heaven's Arena. In addition to getting his Spider tattoo at the time (he wound up with number 9 to replace Pakunoda, which was incredibly awkward for him) they also spent time "getting to know each other". For everyone but Franklin that meant fights, bloody, no-holds barred fights. Harry ended up losing every single one, though it was pretty close a time or two he was proud to say, and ended up taking quite the number of beatings as a result. Thankfully Machi could reattach limbs, even if she charged him through the nose to do it. The reason why he got mauled so bad during his fights differed however, Phinks did it because he was legitimately trying to make him stronger the only way he knew how, Nobunaga did it to work out his aggression for his role in Pakunoda's and Uvogin's deaths (though the latter he stood as proxy for mostly), and Feitan… well it was because the insane/sadistic little bastard liked him and that's how he showed it.

Luckily the two groups only stayed together for a week before they went their separate ways, thankfully Harry was given the choice of which group to go with again. It was obvious what his choice was. The group wandered around for another two months as Harry finished the last of his contracts before they met with the last group of Spiders. The members of said group were more than a little shocking as, in addition to the two expected members, Shizuku and Bonolenov, a new face was with them, his sister Kalluto. That had been a very weird and not so fun meeting that resulted in a bit of an argument between the two of them, the groups quickly went their separate ways after that. Harry had called the Family as soon as they were out of earshot to ask if they knew what she was doing but the only answer he got was that Kalluto was allowed to do what she wanted much to his frustration. He wanted to pressure them into a clearer answer but the conversation turned to his own involvement with the Troupe at that point so he promptly hung up the phone.

Harry's group of Spiders didn't meet up with any of the others again after that, instead they continued to wander the continents as per usual, though this time they just found random objects and places to steal from for fun. During their 6 month long wait until the trip to the Dark Continent the four of them ended up getting fairly close, like friendship level close and everything. It was kind of weird for Harry to actually start liking the Troupe, or at least some of them, but that's human nature for you, exposure breeds familiarity and all that. He and Machi still got on each other's nerves a lot however. So much so in fact that Shalnark had taken to calling them an old married couple, needless to say the denials (and retribution) had been swift. Interestingly enough Machi was only 4 years older than he was, making her 17 to his 13, though the gap would shrink after his birthday to only a three-year difference for about five months. That observation, which he unintentionally said aloud, only made Shalnark's teasing worse and it even caused Kortopi to join in on it on occasion. Machi was very unamused by them all.

Other than wandering the earth and building up his friendship with his new group Harry spent most of his time training his _Nen_ , mostly his and Killua's _Hatsu_ , but he also worked on a few others he had seen as well in secret, including Machi's. Thanks to his Trait, talent and work ethic he had reached an equivalent stage to Killua's during the end of the Chimera Ant incident and started trying to add it to his own personal techniques rather than take it further. Speaking of, his Los Lobos had seen improvements across the board, from the base ability to all his variants and derivatives. His favorite, and proudest, accomplishments were finally figuring out how to let his wolves run on air, up walls/buildings and on top of water (it looked awesome watching a pack of forty ethereal Dire wolves charging through the sky) and a new derivative skill he called Ghosting. What Ghosting entailed was having his wolves turn into a pure energy form to move at higher speeds before reforming for attacks (they couldn't do anything while in energy from). It was also possible for wolves that are Ghosting to pass through small spaces like cracks and holes in walls regardless of size so long as there are openings on each side. It would be slower or faster depending on the size obviously, but it was still a useful technique for a variety of reasons.

He hadn't been able to try any of his new abilities in an actual fight however. Neither Machi, Shalnark nor Kortopi were front line fighters and none of them particularly liked fighting anyways so they weren't helpful in that regard. Harry did test them against the few people they had been forced to fight/kill while they wandered but none of them had had their _Nen_ unlocked so it was like practicing against training dummies. At least Godspeed looked cool and didn't need an opponent to polish as much, though he did get curious looks from his companions whenever he used his wolves or Godspeed, wondering exactly how he was so proficient in two unique, polished, _Hatsu_. They never asked however him, which is good because he wouldn't have told them anyways. It didn't bode well to think about how Machi would react to the knowledge he could, and did, copy her Nen Threads even if he trusted them enough to tell them anyways. It largely didn't matter however as he had managed to keep that a secret however, along with all the other things he could do with _Nen_.

Now however his little vacation with the Troupe was over and it was time for the expedition to the Dark Continent to begin. They didn't bother meeting up with the other groups at the port considering there were a few million people going on this expedition as shocking as that sounded. Instead they blended into the crowd and made plans to meet up after they had all boarded the boat, a truly massive thing shaped like a whale.

"Laaaddddiieeeesss and geeeennttttleeeemmeennn. At long last the day has finally arrived! Humanity prepares to expand its horizons even further as it embarks anew on its Journey to the New Continent! Let the festivities Commence!""

Harry turned to look at his companions as the crowd erupted into cheers. "None of these people even have a clue what the Dark Continent actually is do they?"

Machi snorted. "Of course not, the Kakin royal family wouldn't be able to get enough meat shields if they told the people what it was actually like."

"Meat shields? That's kind of harsh don't you think?"

He got a raised eyebrow in response. "Then what use do you think a few million normal humans have then other than surviving as decoys and cannon fodder?"

Harry didn't have an answer to that so just turned back to watch the MCs make fools out of themselves with their over exaggerated speech and gesticulations. The fact that their speech was so corny didn't help them any either.

"I am honored to be in the presence of living witnesses to a great chapter in history!"

"From here on out, every single thing you experience will be history! That's right, you, yourselves will be part of history!"

"Well then without further ado, let me introduce the great giant who this modern day ark! Our very own King!"

""Nasuuuubbbbbiiiii Huiiiii Guooooo Rouuuuuu!""

Harry stared at the king of the Kakin Empire.

"Wow… he looks even more stupid in person." That got an amused snort from his companions because of just how true that statement was. The man was fat, gaudy as hell and dressed up like some kind of weird mix between a Pope and a Sultan. He even sounded like one too as odd as it was. Overall he was a person with a very… unique aesthetic.

"I've only got one thing I want to say-Huuiii, I… Am the Great King of Kakin! And together we will claim the new continent!"

Harry couldn't keep a sigh from escaping his lips. He was honestly looking forward to robbing this guy at this point. After introducing the king, the MCs proceeded to introduce the rest of the "important" people, including the rest of the royal family, Beyond Netero (son of the previous Chairman and commander of the expedition) and a few other Kakin Empire flunkies. What followed after that was quite a lot of propaganda bs about how valiant and great the king and his family were for leading the expedition before they all left to board the boat. Luckily once the king and his party were on the boat the rest of the "normal" passengers started their own boarding process which meant they didn't have to deal with the rest of the sending of festivities.

It ended up taking an entire day for all the passengers to board, though that was an impressive feat in and of itself considering the number of people involved. Thankfully being _Nen_ users neither Harry nor his group needed to wait in line like normal people and instead shamelessly used their powers to skip ahead without getting noticed. They ended up being placed on the third level of the ship officially but none of them particularly cared about that, instead deciding to wander around until they were called for the meeting. They weren't wholly unproductive however as they did scout out possible ways to get to the higher level floors but there wasn't much luck in that regards. It wasn't until their second day out on sea that the full meeting was called to be held on the 5th level central cafeteria.

The Phantom Troupe were very easy to spot on the table they had commandeered for the group; they were very distinctive to the normal laborers making use of the cafeteria at the time. Harry and his group were the last to arrive as it turned out and all the others turned to face them when they showed up. Machi, Shalnark and Kortopi just gave casual waves before sitting down but Harry paused from doing that as he locked eyes with Chrollo for the first time since Yorknew. It was more than a bit unnerving how the man's eyes bored into him the way they did but the Spider's head didn't give any indication that he felt hostility towards Harry's presence despite that. After a few seconds of locking gazes Chrollo eventually turned his eyes away and Harry took the opportunity to take his seat, sitting down between Machi and his sister where a space had conveniently been left open for him. He might not like that fact that Kalluto was part of the Troupe but he wasn't hypocritical enough to bring it up (again) or let it affect their relationship.

"Now then, everyone's all here. Tell me what have you found so far? Anyone found an easy way to the upper floors?"

A chorus of negative answers was his response.

"I see; we might be forced to use _Nen_ then. Shalnark you think you can take control of whoever is operating the shutters between the third and second floor."

"Probably, though the Hunter's Association has a big presence on the ship, especially on the 2nd and 1st floors, so it's possible I'd get caught before I could let us in."

"Hmm, we'll keep that in reserve then. We have plenty of time to get that treasure after all. I'm curious if our second newest member has a way to help in this endeavor. I know your sister's ability but I don't know yours."

Harry shrugged uncomfortably as all the Spiders turned to stare at him. "My wolves could travel through the vents or other small openings but they aren't exactly stealthy and even if I can get them to open the shutters from the other side it would be messy. I'd have to subdue the guards and operators in order to do that which is likely to cause more of an alarm than Shalnark using his ability."

Chrollo hummed in thought, not paying attention to the gangsters that were now surrounding their table. None of the Troupe paid them any mind for that matter until the apparent leader opened his mouth.

"Sorry, this table is reserved. Move it."

Chrollo looked faintly amused at the old gangster's order. "We're using it right now. You'll have to find somewhere else."

Apparently the man's subordinates didn't take kindly to Chrollo's dismissal and made to pull their guns on the Troupe before their leader stopped them.

"You're the Phantom Troupe, aren't you? You're pretty famous in these circles. Your rampaging through York-New City completely changed the influence of the mafia. In fact, thanks to all that, we secured tickets to the new continent without even lifting a finger. So, in a way, we owe you. I don't want to fight with you, but I can't allow you to make light of our business authority. If you just move along quietly, we'll bring no harm your way"

Harry couldn't resist snorting in derision, which caused the old gangster to stare at him in disapproval. Seeing his look Harry couldn't help but open his mouth.

"So…let me get this straight. You not only know who we are and what we've done. But you think it's a good idea to try and intimidating us with a handful of petty gangsters after the biggest mafia organizations in the world couldn't handle us? Are you going senile?" He was stretching the truth when he included himself in that statement but he was a part of the Spiders now so it wasn't wholly incorrect. Besides his logic was impeccable even if the man didn't want to see it, which he didn't judging by the pissed off expression on his face. At least the other Troupe members found his words amusing.

"Listen here you little brat. I don't know who you think you are but the grownups are talking right now so you best keep your mouth shut. I can make you wish you were never born so I urge you not to antagonize me further." Turning his attention back to Chrollo the man continued to speak in a slightly less antagonistic manner. "Surely you boarded this ship because you have business here right? Let's work together."

On unspoken agreement all the Spiders got up at that point and started walking away, completely ignoring the man and his goons. Everyone but Chrollo that was who had a brief talk with the man, fishing for information about getting to the 1st floor. It seemed to have some amount of success considering how the old gangster reacted to his questions so they now had leads to work on. The fact that the old man and one of his subordinates were also _Nen_ users was also telling. It appeared that getting to the first floor was going to be harder than anyone thought. At least that kept things interesting though.

The Troupe split up into groups again to try and figure out their own leads, with Chrollo hooking up with the group Kalluto was with. Phinks and his group ended up heading towards one of the black market warehouses to retrieve Feitan's and Nobunaga's gear. Chrollo's group went to scout out the third and fourth floor some more and Harry and his group went to pay a visit to some of the security stations. It was Shalnark's idea as he wanted to use his _Hatsu_ on the various guards and soldiers stationed at them to pull information about their security set up. As they traveled around the ship Harry couldn't help but voice a question he never really got an answer too.

"So I know that we're planning the Kakin royal family's treasure and all that but… what do we do after that? Like, we're on a boat to the Dark Continent with no way off, how are we going to keep the treasure without getting caught? That old gangster dude knew who we were so I doubt it'll be too hard to figure out we're on the boat, and the Troupe does have a reputation as thieves. And if we somehow manage to avoid that what are we going to do with it?"

He got curious looks from his companions before Shalnark volunteered to explain.

"Well… we'll just wing it. Boss can hide the treasure easily enough and it's not like we have any particular plans for it beyond stealing it."

"So it's just for fun then?"

Shalnark shrugged. "More or less. Besides we all like to travel and we've already been everywhere else in the world already so going to the Dark Continent is an added bonus."

"Right… well I can't really complain considering that's how I view this whole thing as well really."

Machi snorted. "You won't complain because you know it just makes you look more like the brat you are."

"Says the girl who's shorter than me. You look like you belong in elementary school."

Machi glared at him and Harry glared right back before they completely disregarded their snipes at each other like they never happened. Neither of their two other companions commented as it had become a fairly common sight the past few months. The group continued walking through the streets towards the next guard station, this one at the entrance to the next floor, in silence after that.

"Oi." Harry said.

"We saw it." Machi replied blandly.

"Got a plan?" He asked.

"Kill him if he does something stupid, otherwise ignore him."

Harry nodded his head slightly in response, not breaking his casual slide for even a single moment as he activated his _En_ to keep track of their stalker. His range wasn't as good as Kite's 45 meters but he was at a very respectable 30 meters after all his training so it was easy enough to do. Their stalker was a man who appeared to be in his early 20s with medium length black hair that was slicked back except for two strands above each of his eyes. He was also a _Nen_ user but considering how he didn't even know how to use _Zetsu_ properly he wasn't much of a threat. Harry was curious about what group he belonged to though. The only group he was fairly certain he didn't belong to was the Hunter's Association but that was it.

The man continued to tail them as they made their way to the 5th/4th floor divide and then the 4th floor itself, not making any move against them even when they did nothing to conceal Shalnark turning some of the guards into his puppets briefly. All he did was follow them from a "safe" distance, not letting them out of his site, and Harry was getting annoying. Giving sideways glances to his companions he asked a question.

"Do you guys mind?"

All he got was a shrug in response.

"Right, I'll catch back up with you guys as soon as I'm done then." With that said Harry split off from the other Spiders and made his way through several side streets, noting that his hunch was right and their stalker took his bait. After another turn that saw him in an empty alleyway the man finally made his presence known.

"Hehehe, you shouldn't have split off from your friends kid. You're worth ten whole levels and I won't pass that up just cause you're a brat."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you're even more of a helpless video game addict than my brother, how are you not fatter than him?"

The man didn't bother responding, instead simply opting to smile creepily at him and draw a wicked looking knife.

"Now even doing to give me your name then? How rude. Oh well, just means I'll kill you quicker." With a mental command the wolves he had summoned in the air outside his opponent's vision descended on him in mass. The stalker proved to have good reaction time however as, even with his surprise, he was able to call up his _Nen_ ability to save himself from being torn to shreds. Not enough for him to escape damage when Harry gave his wolves the command to detonate however but unfortunately the damage he ended up taking was light. Well his personal injuries were light, his _Nen_ ability was broken beyond all recognition.

Harry wasn't sure what exactly the man's power entailed or what it was called but at the very least he knew it provided at least some kind of armor effect. His power basically consisted of him summoning up a large number of limbs made of mitch-matched bones from his back, sides and shoulders. About twenty in total from the split second observation Harry had made before smoke covered his stalker's form. The bones themselves were a dark black color and felt incredibly sinister. Harry wondered if the man had to collect the bones to use for his ability and if so if the bones he used were haunted. It was a bit reckless to let his mind wander while he was in a fight but the man wasn't very weak and he was waiting for the smoke to clear anyways.

"Wha-What the hell are you kid. I thought you were just the Phantom Troupe's errand boy despite having _Nen_ but I guess I misjudged you." The man spat out hatefully.

Harry just shrugged in response before pointing behind the man. Interestingly enough his little stalker actually turned around to see what he was pointing at just in time to have one of his wolves clamp its jaws around his throat. The man's three remaining bone arm/tentacle things responded to his instinctual command and ripped that wolf to shreds but he was too late. He was already dying.

"Well… that was anti-climactic. Thought you were a bit stronger to be honest but you were even weaker than I thought. I had been planning on figuring out who you worked for but oh well. I need to catch up with the others now, bye."

Harry didn't stay any longer in that alley way, not caring at all about the man's panicked expression and the naked pleading in his eyes. The only thing that bothered him about the situation was that it didn't bother him. He had left the Family to get away from the killing because he hated it bar for certain individuals but now, he didn't bat an eye at killing a stranger. Sure he had reasonable suspicion that the man was not a good person, his _Nen_ was too sinister for that, but he hadn't known for sure. It had been the same for the contracts he had done to fulfill his promise. The reason why he hadn't liked doing them was because he had been forced to do them not that he killed people. He had become completely desensitized from death and killing at some point, and he wasn't sure when it happened or why. Maybe it was because of the whole Chimera Ant business? He wasn't sure.

Harry remained introspective even as he linked back up with the others. None of them commented about it, or commented about his reappearance at all, acting as if he had never left. His mood remained unchanged as their group went about their tasks for the next few hours as his thoughts simply ran in circles. He was no closer to coming up why he had changed or if he even cared that he had. The only thing he did know for sure was that the trip to the Dark Continent was going to keep causing changes. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

 **AN: Shorter chapter than the others but I believe it's quality is much better. And yes Hisoka is dead as dead can be, which means that Illumi had no reason to join the Spiders or the expedition either. The next chapter will have the last of the Hunter x Hunter world and the start of the Harry Potter stuff. If you can't guess I'm saying fuck it to Hogwarts. I had originally planned using that whole tri-wizard cliché but it gave me writers block, so I changed it. Thus this chapter was finally completed as the Willow scene, which had been fighting me, became much easier.**

 **Hope you enjoyed it.**

 **-Monumentum**


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